ft£ 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH 



" O GOD, THE CREATOE AND PRESERVER OF ALL MANKIND, MORE 
ESPECIALLY WE PRAY FOR THY HOLY CHURCH UNIVERSAL ; THAT 
IT MAY BE SO GUIDED AND GOVERNED BY THY GOOD SPIRIT, THAT 
ALL WHO PROFESS AND CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS MAY BE 
LED INTO THE WAY OF TRUTH, AND HOLD THE FAITH IN UNITY OF 
SPIRIT, IN THE BOND OF PEACE, AND IN RIGHTEOUSNESS OF LIFE. 
AND THIS WE BEG FOB JESUS CHRIST'S SAKE. AMEN.'" 

Book of Common Prayer. 
Daily Morning and Evening Collect. 



<* 



THE 



COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH; 



CHRISTIAN UNITY AND ECCLESIASTICAL UNION 
IN THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



BY THE 

■ 

RT. REV. THOMAS H. VAIL, D.D., LLD. 

" There is one Body." Ephesians 4 : 4. 

M Sola igitur catholica ecclesia est, quae verum cultum retinet. Hie est fons veritatis, 
hoc domicilium fidei, hoc templum Dei. . . . Nenrinem sibi oportet pertinaci con- 
certatione blandiri ; agitur enim de vita et salute. . . . Sed tamen, singuli quiquas 
coetus so potissimum Christianos, et suam esse cathohcam ecclesiam putant." 

Lactantius. List. Div., L. iv. ad fin. 




/J^/f 



Q o 



J 



NEW YORK: 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

549 & 551 BROADWAY. 

1879. 



2 



it 

>|3 



\* 



^ 




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S78, by 

D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



PEEFAO E.* 



Much lias been said and published, of late years, on 
the subject of Christian Union — not enough to accom- 
plish it, but enough to show that the minds of Chris- 
tians are open to the inconveniences and dangers of 
sectarian divisions, and that their hearts are longing for 
some closer and happier communion than is allowed by 
the present divided state of the Christian Church. The 
many proofs presented daily, that Christians desire to 
be united, are encouraging to our hopes ; while, at the 
same time, there is discouragement in the fact that the 
public mind seems to have settled down despondingly 
under the impression that no feasible plan can be pro- 
posed for the accomplishment of its desire. 

The writer thinks that a capital mistake has been 
committed in the course of inquiry which has been 
generally pursued on this subject. He thinks that, in- 
stead of endeavoring to strike out an entirely new sys- 
tem of ecclesiastical unity, the proper and only feasible 
course is to select, for the purpose of uniting within it, 

* To the first edition, published in 1841. 



6 PREFACE. 

some system already established and which realizes most 
nearly the idea of a Comprehensive Church, and, if it 
be not in every respect perfect, to improve it, if it will 
allow improvement, into perfection. It may be there 
is such a system among us — a system whose structure is 
capable of any modification, and in whose organization 
are instrumentalities by which it may be shaped into 
any form, which the majority of the Christians in our 
country may desire. We believe there is such a system 
among us. 

The writer, although a member and minister of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, feels a sincere affection 
for all his Christian brethren of every name, who, being 
partakers of the "one baptism," are fellow-members 
with him of " the Holy Catholic Church," and who, by 
their faith and love, have entered into " the communion 
of saints ; " and the prayer of his heart is : " Grace be 
with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sin- 
cerity." Yet he believes that, in our day, there is a 
very manifest and sad departure from Scriptural unity, 
and that it is the duty of those who "love our Lord 
Jesus Christ in sincerity " to return, if possible, to a 
consistency with the Scriptural precepts. We all realize 
the dissensions of Christ's Church, and suffer from them. 
If we can, let us remedy them. 

After an examination of the ecclesiastical systems 
of various denominations, and a careful investigation of 



PREFACE. 7 

the theory of his own Church, with a particular refer- 
ence to the practicability of Christian and ecclesiastical 
unity, the writer ventures to suggest the remedy alluded 
to. He does so with a confidence in the sympathies of 
Iris Christian brethren; for they will approve his de- 
sign. There ought to be more confidence between the 
members of the Lord's family, more of mutual and un- 
reserved inquiry on the mode of effecting unity. The 
large deliberative bodies, which represent the intellect- 
ual and moral strength of the different denominations, 
ought to confer, and to correspond with each other on 
this subject, which respects certainly one of the most 
important present duties^ of the Church. The writer 
would be glad to see the highest Conventions of his own 
Church exhibiting first this example of Christian con- 
fidence, and even addressing memorials on the subject 
to the members and the representative assemblies of 
other denominations. For it is true that the Divine 
idea of the real liberality and largeness of the Church 
of Christ, as to its terms of communion, and of the 
allowable diversities of opinions and practices within 
its one fold, is very indistinctly realized by the disci- 
ples of the Lord to-day. 

It has been the lot of the writer to mingle much 
with intelligent Christians of different and opposing 
names ; and from his intercourse with them, as well as 
with the members of his own Church, he believes there 



8 PREFACE. 

is a prevailing misconception of the principles of unity, 
and that, if the premises herein advanced shall be gen- 
erally understood, there will be a great progress toward 
a United Church. The common conception is too con- 
tracted. If he is not very much mistaken, the princi- 
ples herein exhibited are familiar to comparatively few, 
and will to most minds suggest a train of reflections al- 
together unusual. 

It had been well if the writer could have backed his 
reasonings by the influence of some personal authority 
or reputation. But, if he lacks that advantage, his rea- 
sonings will have a fairer opportunity to test their force. 
He comes as a Christian man to communicate to his 
brethren something for their mutual benefit, something 
which, he hopes, they will cordially and frankly receive. 
He commends this outline of thought to the patient and 
matured examination of the Christian public, and he 
will be glad if some abler hand shall fill it up more 
elaborately. He can say, with good Bishop Burnet, in 
the preface to his " Exposition of the Thirty-nine Arti- 
cles," although he applies to himself with diffidence the 
language of so distinguished a man : " I had no other 
design in this work, but first to find out the truth my- 
self, and then to help others to find it out. If I suc- 
ceed to any degree in this design, I will bless God for 
it ; and if I fail in it, I will bear it with the humility 
and patience that becomes me. But as soon as I see a 



PREFACE. 9 

better work of this kind, I shall be among the first of 
those who shall recommend that, and disparage this." 

A few words are dne to his Episcopal brethren par- 
ticularly. Ever since he has been in the discharge of 
his calling, both as a missionary and as a parochial min- 
ister, he has felt almost daily the need of some such 
book as this, both for the instruction of his own people 
and for information which others need to have. He 
has been sometimes greatly surprised at the extreme 
misapprehensions prevalent with regard to the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church in the United States, when the 
means of better knowledge have so long been spread 
before the public. His familiarity with these misappre- 
hensions has blunted the sense of surprise, while it has 
nourished a sense of continual regret and sadness. He 
has hoped to find his want supplied, and has finally un- 
dertaken the task for himself, since the need is great, 
and it is hard to wait patiently for an uncertainty. 

There is a class, and a numerous one — that of theo- 
logical students, or candidates for orders — who might, 
as the writer's former observation and personal experi- 
ence has demonstrated, be much benefited by some 
such work as this. It is required, indeed, by a general 
canon, that " the last examination " of every candidate, 
prior to his ordination as deacon, must be " on Church 
history, Ecclesiastical polity, the Book of Common 
Prayer, its history and contents, and the Constitution 



10 PREFACE. 

and Canons of this Church and those of the Diocese to 
which the candidate belongs." Now, on Church his- 
tory, Ecclesiastical polity, and the Book of Common 
Prayer, especially the two former, the student may be 
very well informed, and his examination satisfactory. 
But on the Constitution and Canons of the Church his 
information is ordinarily slight, and his examination 
(if attended to) unsatisfactory, for this good reason, that 
he cannot study them except at disadvantage, because 
they are nowhere so arranged that he can associate them 
with the system of principles which they illustrate. 
Hence it is true that most of our candidates for orders, 
even at their first ordinations, although they may be 
excellent scholars in the Scriptural, and what we may 
call the historical doctrines of their Church, do not have 
clear and accurate and defensible views of their Church 
as it is — as a practical and working system in the pres- 
ent day and in our own country. A treatise like this 
volume, and especially its sixth chapter, might be a use- 
ful manual to the class of students referred to, and a 
convenient aid to those who have the charge of their 
education in the department of ecclesiastical studies. 

Besides, there are many persons who would like in- 
formation as to the Protestant Episcopal Church, touch- 
ing the several points and peculiarities of its whole sys- 
tem. There are many inquirers as to these topics ; and 
such a manual as this may prove a valuable help to lay- 



PREFACE. 11 

men or to clergymen in answering such inquirers, giving 
in one volume information which, without this, can be 
procured only from many volumes. 

Excellent books have been written on different points 
in the system of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and 
illustrative of its peculiar doctrines and customs, with 
very great profit. But, after all, there is no work which, 
in a plain, didactic style, develops the entire system of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church as it is, which shows 
out the whole Church as an existing and operating sys- 
tem of to-day. There is no work which illustrates dis- 
tinctly the comprehensiveness of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, with regard to its adaptation to the pur- 
poses of Christian and Ecclesiastical Unity — the Di- 
vinely-intended purposes of the one great Catholic or 
Universal Church of Christ. These blanks the writer 
has endeavored to fill ; or rather, he has endeavored to 
exemplify, by short precedents, how these blanks may 
be filled. It is his impression that a book, upon a plan 
similar to this, and better executed, might be useful in 
all our parishes, and might be very generally circulated 
with much advantage, not only to the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, but also to the great object of Christian 
and Ecclesiastical Unity, which all true disciples of our 
Lord have so much at heart — in other words, to the ex- 
hibition of the real and chief end for which God's 
Church is founded among men. 



12 PREFACE. 

It is necessary to take this practical view of our sub- 
ject, because, after all, it is the most important. In the 
history and institutions of the Church, whose track has 
marked the course of nearly two thousand years, there 
must be much to deeply interest the student ; and such 
a one, in proportion as he enlarges his acquisitions, will 
learn more and more of the minute causes of those in- 
stitutions and their connection with the history of man, 
and the gradual development of the philosophy of the 
human mind. But the man of every-day life has often 
not the time nor the taste for such investigations. Be- 
sides, all his habits are practical, and concerned with his 
common and pressing interests ; and the question from 
him is : What is the system f He cares not for its his- 
tory nor for its remote causes. He wants to know only 
this — that the system is now practical, that it will work 
well for him, that it does now suit his individual and 
personal wishes and wants. Bishop Brownell, in the 
course of an address delivered by him to the Conven- 
tion of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Connecticut 
held in June, 1840, has well expressed this prevailing 
sentiment, when he says (and the emphasis is his own) : 
" "We love the Church as it is " — we love it as a practi- 
cal system, working in and for our own day, working 
by and for ourselves. It is this view, practical and the 
most important to us, which we would present to our 
readers. 



PREFACE. 13 

The writer anticipates the probability that in some 
things he may not please all his brethren ; he may not 
express precisely the sentiments of all. Some are for 
keeping their Church aloof and disunited from all oth- 
ers, and will have it that there are in it no points of 
natural contact with other denominations. Some, of an 
opposite habit of mind, are for assimilating their 
Church as far as possible with one or another particu- 
lar denomination which commands their sympathies; 
while others still have selected some particular de- 
nomination against which it is their hobby to oppose 
their Church. E"ow all these are more or less sectarian 
in their spirit. Certainly, they have no just percep- 
tions of the comprehensiveness of their Church. We 
commend to them all our subject. 

Moreover, it is not in the plan of this book to say 
everything that is to be said about the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church. It is not presenting ancient history, nor 
abstract generalizations, nor pleasant conceits. It is stat- 
ing present facts, without going into the philosophical 
or the historical or the logical reasons which lie under 
them. It simply looks at an Ecclesiastical system which 
is in existence (no matter how or why) in this country 
to-day, and analyzes it in reference to its aptitude for 
the all-important purpose of Church comprehension. 

Of one thing the writer is assured— he has asserted 
no facts which he does not prove ; he has advanced no 



14 PREFACE. 

principle which is not simple and well-nigh demon- 
strable. 

Finally, he accommodates, with humility, to this 
place the closing words of the preface of the Book of 
Common Prayer, which he prefers to the reader as ex- 
pressive of his own hopes : " And now this work being 
brought to a conclusion, it is hoped the whole will be 
received and examined by every true member of our 
Church, and every sincere Christian, with a meek, can- 
did, and charitable frame of mind ; without prejudice 
or prepossession ; seriously considering what Chris- 
tianity is, and what the truths of the Gospel are ; and 
earnestly beseeching Almighty God to accompany with 
His blessing every endeavor for promulgating them to 
mankind in the clearest, plainest, most affecting and 
majestic manner, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our 
blessed Lord and Saviour." 



"almighty and ever-living god, we beseech thee to in- 
spire CONTINUALLY THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH WITH THE SPIRIT OF 
TRUTH, UNITY, AND CONCORD : AND GRANT THAT ALL THOSE, WHO 
DO CONFESS THY HOLY NAME, MAY AGREE IN THE TRUTH OF THY 
HOLY WORD, AND LIVE IN UNITY AND GODLY LOVE. GRANT THIS, 
O FATHER, FOR JESUS CHRIST'S SAKE, OUR ONLY MEDIATOR AND AD- 
VOCATE. AMEN." 

Book of Common Prayer. 
Prayer in the Order for the Holy Communion. 



AND THAT IT MAY PLEASE TIIEE TO EULE AND GOVEEN THY HOLY 
CHUECH UNIVEESAL IN THE EIGHT WAY ; WE BESEECH THEE TO 
HEAE US, GOOD LOED ! " 

Book of Common Prayer, 

The Litany. 



PREFACE TO THIS EDITION, 



In the year 1841, thirty-seven years ago, the first 
edition of this book was published by the late H. Hunt- 
ington, Jr., at Hartford, Conn. The book was read, in 
the manuscript, by the then Bishop of Connecticut, the 
Rt. Rev. Thomas Church Brownell, D. D., LL. D., ever 
to be revered, by whom it was approved and com- 
mended. The Rev. George Burgess, afterward the 
distinguished Bishop of Maine, then rector of Christ 
Church, Hartford, a very dear and lifelong friend of 
the author, who was compelled to be absent from that 
city, read the proofs for him, and kindly saw the book 
through the press. It had his hearty endorsement. 

The phrase adopted as the title of this book was in 
those days seldom if ever heard ; and the conception 
embodied in it was little understood or appreciated. 
The editor of the New York Churchman, the late Dr. 
Samuel Seabury, a personal friend, of one school in the 
Church, denounced it, as representing the Church to be 
an ecclesiastical omnibus, rashly inviting everybody to 



18 PREFACE TO THIS EDITION. 

a place in it ; while, from an opposite side, the then 
newly-elected Bishop of Massachusetts, Dr. Eastburn, 
also a personal friend, belonging to another school in 
the Church, pnt his brand upon it with his character- 
istic honesty, as representing the Church to be alto- 
gether too democratic. The Church did not then ap- 
prehend the receptive capabilities of her divinely cath- 
olic constitution. It was not up to the idea presented 
in this book. The prevailing conception of the Church 
in those days was, if likened to some sort of vehicle, as 
the Church thunderer * of that day likened it, that it 
was a sort of private and proprietary carriage or eccle- 
siastical hack, in which a few select friends of elective 
affinities might ride together; or else a sort of eccle- 
siastical sulky, like those formerly much used in hilly 
New England, which could carry only one. The idea of 
The Comprehensive Church is now quite generally ac- 
cepted, and the phrase is becoming decidedly familiar. 

In the course of these years the book, still surviving 
in a few hands, has been quietly doing a good work, 
calling the attention of some thoughtful readers to the 
true character of the Lord's one Church ; and there are 
at this moment several — a considerable number — of the 
older clergymen in our communion, who were attracted 
or aided to their present ecclesiastical relations by its 
perusal. 

* The New York Churchman. 



PREFACE TO THIS EDITION. 19 

The author has very often, especially during the last 
fifteen years, while this subject of the extent or of the 
limits of Church comprehension has been forcing itself 
upon the consideration of Christian men, been solicited 
to republish the book ; but the constant pressure of 
onerous duties in his large missionary diocese has occu- 
pied the time required for such an undertaking. Within 
the last year or two these requests have been so urgently 
repeated that he has consented to comply with them, 
and now offers it once more to the public as expressing 
the unchanged and still more matured convictions of a 
life already somewhat extended. 

The author may be pardoned for saying that, if he 
was a pioneer in the development of this vast subject 
of Church comprehension, he has never gone back upon 
his early record, and can claim at least the award of 
self-consistency. If lie was somewhat in advance of 
the majority of his brethren, and has paid some penalty 
for being so, he has " bided his time," by God's grace, 
and welcomes, with thanks to God, the new day of 
tolerance and charity. 

The book is printed from the first edition. The 
references to the canons have been adapted to our 
more modern Digest up to the General Convention of 
1877. The substance of the book remains as it was 
first published, with only those verbal and minor emen- 
dations — the removal of redundancies or the clearer 



20 PREFACE TO THIS EDITION. 

presentation of ideas — which the limce mora has war- 
ranted, and which a review after so long a time has 
suggested. 

The special design of the book is to be borne in 
mind by the reader. It is not to discuss Church his- 
tory, nor is it to elaborate what are called Church prin- 
ciples. It deals with no question of the de jure. It 
touches only the de facto. It takes the Church, as 
Bishop Brownell expressed himself, " as it is" simply 
as it finds it to-day, without any hypotheses, assump- 
tions, or explanations — simply as an actual existing sys- 
tem and institution. It does not inquire as to its annals 
or its theories. It finds it different, as it is, from all 
other existing systems, in its comprehensiveness ; and 
the argument of the book is based upon this fact. There 
are other arguments for the Church as strong as this, 
perhaps stronger, based upon history or upon abstract 
principles, or upon Scriptural or patristic investiga- 
tions. They are all weighty in their places and lines 
of thought ; but they are not in this book, which fol- 
lows its own single and independent line of inquiry. 
Some may appreciate this argument who may not ap- 
preciate those. Let us search for the truth wherever 
and however it may be learned. 

Finally, when we have analyzed this present system 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church as it is, and find it 
so comprehensive in all its parts, and so admirably ar- 



PKEFACE TO THIS EDITION. 21 

ranged as a basis for Christian unity and ecclesiastical 
union, we ask, Who made this system ? Where did it 
come from ? Churchmen did not invent it nor make 
it. Many of them do not grasp it. Some of them in 
spirit are very alien from it. They inherit it from their 
fathers, and these again from theirs, back to the begin- 
ning. If it be not man-made, may not this Compre- 
hensive Church have come, for gathering back into 
one the scattered flock of Christ, from the Hand and 
Will of God ? In other words, looking at this sys- 
tem among the other systems around it, and as com- 
pared with those of (what the preface of our Prayer- 
Book calls) "the different religious denominations of 
Christians in these States," is not its comprehensive- 
ness, which is its distinguishing characteristic, a very 
strong evidence of its Divine Original ? 

But let the reader draw his own conclusions. Any 
judgment is worth nothing to him, except as it is sin- 
cerely, patiently, disinterestedly, and positively his 
own. 



" O GOD, THE CBEATOE AND PEESEEYEE OF ALL MANKIND, . . . 
MOEE ESPECIALLY WE PEAY FOE THY HOLY CHUECH UNIYEESAL ; 
THAT IT MAY BE SO GUIDED AND GOVEENED BY THY GOOD SPIEIT, 
THAT ALL WHO PEOFESS AND CALL THEMSELVES OHEISTIANS MAY 
BE LED INTO THE WAY OF TBUTH, AND HOLD THE FAITH IN UNITY 
OF SPIRIT, IN THE BOND OF PEACE, AND IN EIGHTEOUSNES8 OF LIFE. 
. . . AND THIS WE BEG FOE JESUS CHEIST's SAKE. AMEN." 

Prayer for all conditions of men. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEE I. 

PAGE 

No Christian Union without Ecclesiastical Unity— a Comprehensive 
Church apparently impracticable — desired by all — one to be pro- 
posed in this volume — principles of unity in the Apostolical and 
Primitive Church — Eornan Catholic and Protestant non-Episcopal 
Churches all consolidated — not comprehensive — ought to return to 
primitive principles — a bad habit of the public mind — the true idea 
of a Church 35 

CHAPTEE II. 

The Church described in the New Testament as one— proved by Ephe- 
sians 4:4 . .41 



CHAPTEE m. 

Definition of Sectarism — what it is not — what it is — essentially hostile 
— not realized 44 

CHAPTEE IV. 
No necessity for divisions in our day— apology for the Continental Ee- 
formers— reply to several alleged advantages of divisions and ob- 
jections to unity — the Word of God decisive — importance of con- 
sidering the subject — state of division a state of sin — indifference 
the cause of its continuance — Christians should be in earnest to do 
their duty 47 

CHAPTEE V. 

Evils of Sectarism — it disobeys a divine command — involves the con - 
sequences charged upon unity — produces a false idea of the Church 
— extends and perpetuates error — wastes the energies of the Church 
— prevents the conversion of the world — is the most efficient ob- 
stacle to Christian Union - . . 52 



24 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

PAGE 

There must be a Comprehensive Church — its fundamental principles — 
determined by the nature and objects of the Church — universality 
and unity — liberty and law — compromise and conformity— contrast 
between the Comprehensive Church and sectarism, . . .59 

CHAPTER VII. 

Notice of certain denominational peculiarities— a Comprehensive 
Church for our age and country practicable— no existing Christian 
denominations should be excluded from the Comprehensive Church, 
neither Protestant Episcopalians nor non-Episcopalians — a question 
for pious non-Episcopalians, 63 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Is there now in the United States a Comprehensive Church, combin- 
ing into one harmonious system the " distinctive peculiarities" of 
all the denominations ? — Is it any Church of non-Episcopalians ? — 
Is it the Protestant Episcopal Church ?— a plan of unity proposed 
— the writers apology for his proposition — the existing system of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church proposed as a basis of Christian 
and ecclesiastical unity — may appear strange — a candid judgment 
solicited, 69 

CHAPTER IX. 

EXAMINATION OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AS IT IS. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church proposed as the Comprehensive 
Church— proposition explicit— to be sustained by facts— the reader 
invited to look at the outlines of the system of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church as a system for Christian and ecclesiastical unity- 
examination to be distributed through twenty-one sections, . . 71 

Section I. — Definition of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States. It is not the Church of Rome— it is not the Church of 
England — it is a Christian and Protestant American Church — at 
unity with the ancient and universal Church of Christ, . . .76 

Sec II. — Members. Clergy and laity — always connected in ecclesias- 
tical legislation and divine worship — Bishops commonly distin- 
guished from the other clergy by their title of office — all Christians 
may be members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, . . .90 

Sec III. — Territorial Divisions. The Protestant Episcopal Church 
co-extensive with the United States — all one Church — its unity 



CONTENTS. 25 

PAGE 

represented in the General Convention — Dioceses the subdivisions 
of the whole Church — represented in Diocesan Conventions — com- 
bination, formation, size, and Episcopal charge of Dioceses — inde- 
pendence of Dioceses — present number of Dioceses and Bishops — 
Parishes the subdivisions of Dioceses — independence and rights 
of parishes — parochial officers — the territorial divisions of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church convenient for unity, . . . .92 

Sec. IV. — Laws. All written — made by the whole Church — laws of 
the General Convention — laws of the Dioceses — the election -of 
wardens and vestry, and the use of the clerical dress, common cus- 
toms — liberty in everything not denned by law — clear laws advan- 
tageous for unity, ' 98 

Seo. V. — Government. Democratical — representative. Parish Meet- 
ings — the original sources of government — their various powers — 
how composed — elect wardens and vestry — powers and duties of 
these officers — an instituted rector is chairman — elect lay delegates 
to the Diocesan Conventions. Diocesan Conventions — their du- 
ties and powers— meet annually— composed of clergy and laity- 
mode of conducting business — the Bishop the chairman— elect 
standing committees — duties of these committees — elect clerical 
and lay deputies to the General Convention. General Conven- 
tion — its duties and powers to provide general legislation and pro- 
mote unity — composed of bishops, clergy, and laity — meets trien- 
nially — is in two houses, each has a veto on the other, each equal 
— House of Bishops — how composed — senior Bishop presides — mode 
of conducting business — House of Clerical and Lay Deputies — how 
composed — mode of conducting business— the vote by a division 
of orders — by this the clergy and laity have a veto upon each other. 
Comments — analogy between the ecclesiastical institutions of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States and the civil in- 
stitutions of the United States — government of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church very comprehensive — primitive — combines the 
three elements, the Episcopal, the Presbyterial, the Congrega- 
tional — a just system — broad enough to unite all Christians, . . 101 

Sec VI. — Ordination and Duties of Ministers. Three orders or de- 
grees of ministers — Deacons the lowest — Presbyters next — Bishops 
the highest — rules concerning ordination — candidates for orders — 
testimonials of Standing Committee— preparatory steps of a Deacon 
— of a Presbyter — of a Bishop — all promise conformity to the doc- 
trine, discipline, and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
— duties of ministers — explained in the ordinals — as commonly un- 

2 



26 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

derstood — scope and variety of clerical influence — the judgment of 
all denominations here approved, . 121 

Sec. VII. — Rights of the Bishops and Clergy. Each order has a sep- 
arate right in legislation — a right to fulfil its duty without restraint 
— ordinary rights — those of the clergy well understood — those of 
the bishops misunderstood — proper to explain — their rights all de- 
fined by the laws of the Church — no arbitrary official power of 
bishops — they cannot be oppressive — for several reasons — from the 
organization of the Church — they are subjects of discipline— under 
public opinion — depend on the clergy and laity — are elected by 
the Diocesan Conventions — subject to their control — the bishops 
are good and trustworthy men — elected for this reason — we appeal 
to their character — are thankful for them — the system of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church a medium between extremes — invites to 
unity, 126 

Sec. VIII. — Admission to the Sacraments. Principles of Church mem- 
bership important — two sacraments — admission to baptism — re- 
quisites — belief in the Scriptures and earnest self-consecration to 
the service of Christ— no requisites beyond the spiritual character 
of a Christian— admission to the Lord's Supper— through confir- 
mation, which is the resumption of the baptismal obligation— sac- 
raments open to all true disciples of Christ— free as the Saviour's 
blood— the Church has no right to restrict them from any who love 
their Lord — the clergy bound to administer them — liable to pun- 
ishment if arbitrary— no substitution of human traditions in place 
of the Divine commandments — the sacraments of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church open to all Christians in our land, . . .131 

Sec IX.— Greeds. Enumeration of the creeds of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church— in what respects the creeds are obligatory upon the 
members of the Church— the laity— the clergy— the Apostles' 
Creed only to be believed and confessed ex animo— the creeds 
are adopted by the majority of the whole Church in the Gen- 
eral Convention— the benefit of the creeds— why the Church re- 
quires any creed — no other, more minute and explicit than the 
Apostles' Creed, ought to be required for admission to the sacra- 
ments—the system of the Protestant Episcopal Church in regard to 
her creeds favorable to the discovery and the security of Christian 
truth— the Protestant Episcopal Church fitted for the union of all 
Christians who love their Lord supremely, and each other affec- 
tionately and forbearingly, . . . * . . < . . . 140 



CONTENTS. 27 

PAGE 

Sec. X. — Doctrine. The doctrine of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
scriptural and practical — enumeration of some prominent doctrines 
— reference to standards — the position of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in relation to doctrines connected with the philosophy of 
religion — the Thirty-nine Articles — especially the seventeenth ar- 
ticle — controversies concerning them — formerly — now ceased — ben- 
efit of the controversy — history of the Articles — their sense in the 
English Church — to be literally and liberally interpreted— quota- 
tions from Bishop Burnet and Bishop White — both Calvinists and 
Arminians always in the English Church — subscriptions of'the 
clergy — history of the Articles of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in the United States — established in 1801 — are articles of peace — 
both Calvinists and Arminians in the Protestant Episcopal Church 
— members of this Church free to be either, and to discuss their 
opinions — both clergy and laity — but the pulpit is protected from 
both — the clergy to preach only Scripture — these, if they please, as 
Scripture, but not as a system — neither Calvinism nor Arminianism, 
as such, may be advocated or be condemned in the pulpit — only 
the Word of God to be preached— proved — the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church well arranged to unite all Christians of all opposing 
views on these subjects, 147 

Sec. XL— Discipline. The Discipline of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church not arbitrary— regulated by law— the occasions defined by 
the General Convention — the modes by the Diocesan Conventions 
— the subjects. The Ministry — degrees of discipline — enumeration 
of offences liable to discipline — prosecutors — candidates for orders 
liable as laymen — mode of trial of ministers — each order tried by 
peers — sentence pronounced by the Bishop. The Laity— occa- 
sions and mode of discipline — right of appeal — first to the Bishop 
—then to a special Ecclesiastical Diocesan court. Discipline of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church rather merciful than austere— de- 
fended — open to improvement — present principles just — proper to 
an all-embracing Church, . 156 

Sec. XIL— Public Worship. In the Protestant Episcopal Church by 
precomposed formularies— shall not discuss their propriety— the 
Substance of them generally approved and admired— reference to 
an answer to some objection s^generally used by dissenters in 
England— not in this country— but preferred by many of the pious 
and intelligent non-Episcopal clergy, and by many of their lay- 
men, in our country— the festivals and fasts of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church observed in many denominations— the reading of the 



28 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Bible without note or comment in public worship becoming more 
common in other denominations — also the responsive reading of 
the Scriptures and responsive worship better understood — the Lit- 
urgies of the Protestant Episcopal Church under the control of the 
Church — may be changed by a majority (in the General Conven- 
tion) to any extent, even to abrogation — subject of changes some- 
times discussed — when necessary or generally desired will be ac- 
complished — those who love uniformity or order of some sort in 
public worship may be united in the Protestant Episcopal Church, 162 

Sec. XIII. — Bights of the Laity. Arrangement under a single view of 
previous observations — the Laity an order in the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church — their rights in parishes — rights in Diocesan Con- 
ventions — rights in the standing committees — rights in the Gen- 
eral Convention — rights of Church membership— rights in ecclesi- 
astical trials of discipline — rights of full and perpetual self-protec- 
tion—their peculiarity as a constituent order in the Church insisted 
upon — the Protestant Episcopal Church worthy of the approbation 
of all Christians, . • 169 

Sec XIV. — Baptism. The meaning of Baptism — explained in the 
Twenty-seventh Article — the Baptismal Service to be interpreted 
by this Article — doctrine compared, with the standards of the 
Methodist, the Presbyterian, and the Congregational Churches — 
the mode of Baptism — dipping or affusion — adults and infants — re- 
quisites for Baptism — witnesses for adults — sponsors for children — 
duties of witnesses and sponsors — Baptism followed by confirma- 
tion — will be shown to meet the views of all Christians — Baptism 
the Sacrament of the Confession of Christ — this the view of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church — a Scriptural view — two conditions 
of salvation, Faith and Baptism — St. Mark — a spiritual condition 
and an apparently ceremonial one — confession of Christ in Bap- 
tism — St. Luke — St. Matthew — St. Paul in Eomans — history of the 
Acts — confession of the Eunuch — St. Paul in 1 Corinthians — 1 
Peter — Baptismal Confession a part of Baptism — history of the 
Church — Infant Baptism reconcilable with the Baptismal Con- 
fession, 174 

Sec. XV. — Confirmation, the Sequel or Complement of Infant Baptism. 
Confirmation follows Baptism — reasons for this rule — the rite of 
admission to the Lord's Supper — no new obligation assumed in it 
— the reassumption of the baptismal obligation — analogous, in 
part, to the " owning of the Christian Covenant" in other denom- 



CONTENTS. 29 

PAGE 

inations — some grounds on which Confirmation is defended — spe- 
cial consideration of the relation of Confirmation to Infant Baptism 
— Baptism implies voluntary confession of Christ after faith — In- 
fant Baptism imperfect without some rite attached to it, as a se- 
quel, for adult confession — Confirmation this rite — supported by 
legal analogies — this the view of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
— proved — importance of Confirmation — a part of a comprehensive 
system — the Protestant Episcopal Church differing from all other 
Protestant communions in this matter, and reconciling them — the 
foregoing principles applied to the system of Pedobaptist Churches 
— which are faulty — may be reformed by the system of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church — applied to the views of Baptists 
— Confirmation shown to be de facto adult baptism — may be 
by immersion — Baptists may consistently with their principles 
unite with the Protestant Episcopal Church — and even present 
their children to the Lord in the ordinance of Infant Baptism in 
the Protestant Episcopal Church — objection answered — our view in 
perfect accordance with the Congregational system of Baptists — 
Confirmation, being de facto adult baptism, is in harmony with a 
de facto ministry and de facto sacraments, such as Baptists ac- 
knowledge and maintain — the Protestant Episcopal Church well 
qualified to unite both Pedobaptist and Baptist communions, and 
thus to restore the unity of the Church of Christ, . . . .185 

Sec. XVI. — The Supper of the Lord. The meaning of the Lord's 
Supper in the Protestant Episcopal Church — proved from stand- 
ards — Qualifications for the Lord's Supper — whatsoever may be 
included in a worthy discipleship of Christ — proved from standards 
— the views of the Protestant Episcopal Church commend them- 
selves to all Christian people, 202 

Sec. XVII. — Literary, Educational, Benevolent, and Missionary Asso- 
ciations. Literary institutions — enumeration of some — for males 
and females — two General Education Societies — Diocesan Educa- 
tion Societies— subject of Christian education under the considera- 
tion of the General Convention — General Sunday-School Union — 
Diocesan and Local Sunday-School Societies — General Theological 
Seminary — Diocesan Theological Seminaries — various Diocesan 
Bible and Tract and Common Prayer Book Societies — American 
Bible and Tract Societies — various Diocesan Benevolent Societies 
— various Diocesan Missionary Societies — City Mission Societies — 
the General Missionary Society — notice of its constitution — great 
evangelical principles asserted in it — its operations — money col- 



30 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

lected and expended by it — its principles such as to win the assent 
of all Christians, 212 

Sec. XVIII. — Liberty. Eeplies to several inquiries — liberty in the 
Protestant Episcopal Church — to join voluntary and benevolent 
societies — to form associations for religious improvement — to offer 
extemporaneous prayers — to engage in social meetings for religious 
purposes — to make special efforts for the good of souls — statement 
of a grand principle of liberty in the Protestant Episcopal Church 
— this Church therefore dear to all friends of religious liberty, . 219 

Seo. XIX. — Adaptiveness. The Protestant Episcopal Church adaptive 
to all circumstances of society, and all the temperaments and hab- 
itudes of men— thus proved a true Church — accordant "with the 
design of the Church — importance of adaptiveness — folly of estab- 
lishing a Church on different principles— necessity of adaptiveness 
illustrated — the opposite of adaptiveness a fundamental error in 
sectarism — lessons from the history of the past — the Church may 
not forbid anything, and may use everything, but sin— objec- 
tions answered — no evils resulting from adaptiveness in the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church — such evils cannot exist in it — illustrated 
— the writer's advice to his Christian brethren — a word to Episco- 
palians — the Protestant Episcopal Church founded on the most ex- 
pansive principles, 222 

Sec XX. — Religious Devotion and Action. Two tests of a Church. 
Religious Devotion — Formularies of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church — high spirituality— order of services — holy men of the 
Church — distinction between the system of the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church and other systems for the production of devotion. Re- 
ligious Action — variety and arrangement of evangelical subjects — 
in connection with liberty — and with adaptiveness — the Protestant 
Episcopal Church the revival Church of the United States— work- 
ing of the system — such a Church should be dear to all true Chris- 
tians, . , . . • 230 

Seo. XXI. Comprehensive Traits. If the Protestant Episcopal Church 
be the Comprehensive Church, it becomes the privilege if not the 
duty of all Christians to unite themselves with it — extent of this 
duty — a recapitulation of the various comprehensive traits eluci- 
dated in the preceding sections— the Protestant Episcopal Church 
proved to be the Comprehensive Church — the only Church founded 
successfully and completely upon the maxim of the primitive and 
Apostolical Church — there are few even of its own members who 



CONTENTS. 31 

PAGE 

understand its comprehensiveness — this Church not originated by 
human wisdom or accident — it is a system provided by the gra- 
cious providence of the Lord, for the Christian and ecclesiastical 
unity of all His disciples, .......... 243 

CHAPTER X. 

Conclusion — mode in which our subject has been treated — the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church comprehensive— none other like it — another 
aspect of this Church — enumeration of certain principles prelim- 
inary to the exhibition of it — the Protestant Episcopal Church a 
platform on which Christians may meet and perfect a plan of unity 
— this proved — the mearjs of unity are provided if Christians will 
use them — the Protestant Episcopal Church capable of infinite 
modification — invites all Christians to unite in it and modify it as 
they please — objection answered — the system of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church further opened — a beautiful and grand scheme — 
sin of negligence on this subject — a call to unity — deprecation of 
false unity — advantages of true unity — call upon the laity — call 
upon the clergy — our plan submitted to the candid judgment and 
honest decision of the Christian public, 249 

Appendix, 259-292 



"O ALMIGHTY GOD, WHO HAST BUILT THY CHTTKCH UPON THE 
FOUNDATION OF. THE APOSTLES AND PEOPHETS, JESUS OHEIST HIM- 
SELF BEING THE HEAD COENEE-STONE ; GRANT US SO TO BE JOINED 
TOGETHER IN UNITY OF SPIRIT BY THEIR DOCTRINE, THAT WE MAY 
BE MADE AN HOLY TEMPLE ACCEPTABLE UNTO THEE; THROUGH 
JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN." 

Collect for St. Simon and St. Judge's Day. 



CHRISTIAN UNITY 



ECCLESIASTICAL UNION 



"I BELIEVE IN THE HOLT CATnOLIO CHTJKCH, THE COMMUNION 
OF SAINTS." 

Book of Common Prayer. 

The Apostles' C'eecl. 



THE 

COMPREHENSIVE CHUEOE 



CHAPTER I. 



No Christian union without ecclesiastical unity — a Comprehensive Church 
apparently impracticable — desired by all — one to be proposed in this 
volume — principles of unity in the apostolical and primitive Church — 
Koman Catholic and Protestant non-Episcopal Churches all consoli- 
dated, not comprehensive — ought to return to primitive principles — a 
bad habit of the public mind — the true idea of a Church. 

The little work here addressed to the Christian pub- 
lic proposes a plan of union to the various denomi- 
nations of Christians in our country. The writer is 
convinced that Christian union can never be effected 
except upon some plan of ecclesiastical unity — some 
system of a Church broad enough to allow all sincere 
and humble-hearted disciples of our Lord to unite upon 
it — a comprehensive system, which shall combine natur- 
ally and harmoniously the chief peculiarities of the 
various denominations in our land. 

At first sight it seems impossible that a model of a 
Church can be proposed which shall bring together 
into one the systems which now conflict — the very 
" distinctive peculiarities " which have hitherto sepa- 



36 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

rated sects. If, however, a model like this referred to 
can be found, it will commend itself, of course, to the 
consideration and approval of all Christian people ; for 
we are fain to believe that none are desirous to perpet- 
uate the unhappy dissensions of the religious commu- 
nity, and all would be glad to further any plan which 
warrants a reasonable expectation of unity. Such a 
model will, in due time, be proposed in this volume. 

The grand principles upon which the apostolical and 
primitive Church was organized seem to have been 
all embodied in that familiar but noble maxim : " In 
necessariis unitas ; in non necessariis libertas ; in omni- 
bus caritas " — unity in essentials ; liberty in non-essen- 
tials ; love in everything. As far as we can learn 
from the history of the New Testament, and from the 
topics discussed in the writings of the earliest fathers, 
and from the few historical records of the first cen- 
turies, this maxim appears to have been very fully and 
beautifully illustrated. 

But the desire of power so natural to man began 
directly to manifest itself, and the principles embodied 
in that maxim were soon departed from ; and the long 
history of the Christian Church, from a very early 
period, has proved the folly and the danger of leaving 
the true principles of its organization. From that 
period to the present there has been a valuable lesson 
taught to them who will receive it. Would that the 
lesson may be profitably learned ! It is, that there 
must be a unity in the Christian Church, and this must 
be unity in essentials / and that to attempt to go be- 
yond this, and accomplish unity in non-essentials, is 
inevitably to destroy the purity and the glory of the 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 37 

Church, and to introduce the most lamentable evils. 
The lesson has been exemplified most clearly, although 
differently, in the two great epochs of ecclesiastical his- 
tory — that which preceded the Protestant Reformation, 
and that which has followed the Reformation ; it has 
been exemplified first in the history of the Roman 
Catholic Church, and next in that of Protestant Chris- 
tendom, as we will briefly elucidate. 

It is evidently a Scriptural truth that the Church 
must be " one body," both in respect of its external 
unity and of its infernal unity; and this truth has 
been acknowledged as a practical and necessary prin- 
ciple by Christians of every name and in every age, 
the present as well as the past. But the fault, in the 
case of Protestants* and Roman Catholics alike, has 
been that their idea of unity has been erroneous and 
excessive ; that they all have aimed at too much unity ; 
that in their conceptions they have substituted consol- 
idation for unity ; and that, instead of striving to form 
simply a united Church, they have been continually 
striving to make a consolidated Clmrch. Thus if the 
mind of Christendom had always adhered to its first 
principles, and had never forgotten that, in order to 
have " unity in essentials," there must always be al- 
lowed "liberty in non-essentials," the monstrous and 
long - continued scheme connected with the Papacy 
would never have been originated ; or if it had been 
possibly originated, it could never have been consum- 
mated. The whole scheme of the Roman Catholic 
Church was a legitimate creation, a gradual result, of 
the false conception of unity. The Roman Catholic 
Church was not a united, but a consolidated Church. 



38 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

So, too, if Protestants (at least in the second genera- 
tion after the Reformation) had gone back to primitive 
principles, and had never persisted in their attempts, 
each to compel the others into an exact agreement with 
itself, upon points not indispensable to the great end of 
the Chnrch — the preservation and extension of gospel 
truth, and the conforming of Christ's disciples to His 
image — there never would have been the divisions 
which have sullied the lustre of Protestantism. The 
countless and conflicting sects of an age in other re- 
spects free are the immediate products of the same 
false conception of unity. Each sect is not a united, 
but a consolidated Church. 

Is it too late to return to first principles ? Is there 
no wisdom in the history of the past which we may 
apply to the benefit of the present age ? Ought not the 
effort at consolidating the Church to be immediately 
and forever abandoned, when the experience of ten cen- 
turies of Papal supremacy, and that of three centuries 
of Protestant dissension, have given their common and 
conclusive testimony that the effort is not only abortive 
but ruinous % Cannot the Church once more have true 
unity, and, in its future experience, be ever warned to 
its safety by the two-fold teachings of the past % 

In the view of the writer there is a fundamental 
difficulty, which, it would seem, needs only to be ex- 
posed in order to be removed ; and it is that the idea 
of a Comprehensive Church is, in our day, a new idea. 
"We have been so much in the habit of looking at 
churches through the medium of sectarian preposses- 
sions, that the idea seems complicate and difficult of 
apprehension. The habit of the whole community, 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 39 

through the influences of sectarian education, is invari- 
ably to associate contractedness with the mention of a 
church ; to suppose that there can be no such thing as 
an ecclesiastical organization except it be exclusive 
and arbitrary. This is a bad habit ; and it is not one 
of the least evils of sectarism that it has wrought such 
a mistake upon the public mind. We wish our readers 
to lift themselves above this habit, to form in their 
minds clearly the thought that there can be a Compre- 
hensive Church. 

What is a Church % It is an association of all the 
true disciples of Christ, acknowledging His gospel for 
their rule of faith and practice, of every variety of per- 
sonal opinion and talent and temperament and condi- 
tion. To our mind the very name of a Church sug- 
gests the most comprehensive idea. But the. habit of 
the public thought is different, and we lament the fact. 
The object of a Church is the continuing and extending 
of the worship and service of God, according to the 
gospel ; and when this, the only object of an ecclesias- 
tical system, is effected, all other things should be left 
in the liberty of nature. A Church founded upon 
these principles is the only one, we confess, which 
commends itself to our sympathies ; and we cannot 
acknowledge one which rests upon a narrower founda- 
tion as illustrating the true idea of a Christian Church. 
We believe there is truth as well as beauty in the pious 
philosophy (partially quoted on our title page) of the 
eloquent Lactantius, where he writes : " The only 
Catholic or universal Church is that which retains the 
true cultus. This is the fountain of truth, this is the 
home of faith, this is the temple of God. But, since 



40 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

there are many associations of separatists, who all think 
that themselves are especially Christians, and each of 
whom thinks that his own is the Catholic Chnrch, let 
it be known that only that is the true Chnrch in which 
are confession and penitence, and which is able to cure 
the manifold sins and sufferings to which the imbecility 
of the flesh is subject." 

One mark of a true Church must always he its 
comprehensiveness. This is the prominent idea in that 
old maxim familiar to controversialists that, one of the 
marks of a true Church is its catholicity / and for this 
characteristic, which qualifies it for the accomplishment 
of Christian unity, we love the ecclesiastical system to 
which the patient attention of the reader will be pres- 
ently solicited. 



CHAPTEE II. 



The Church described in the New Testament as one — proved by Ephe- 
sians 4 : 4. 



It is proper to remind the reader, in the very be- 
ginning of our reasonings, that there is but one Church 
recognized in the Scriptures, and that in the apostolic 
age there was no such person known as a Christian 
who was not a member of this one Church ; the terms 
were then synonymous. When, at the very first, the 
doctrines of Christ were preached, and men became 
converts to his faith, we learn that " the Lord added to 
the Church daily such as should be saved " (Acts 2 : 47) ; 
and, at the close of his long and laborious life, St. Paul 
writes to the Christian believers : " We are all baptized 
into one body " (1 Cor. 12 : 13) ; and he tells us, in many 
passages of his epistles, that " the Church is the body of 
Christ" (Eph. 1 : 23 ; Col. 1 : 24 ; 1 Cor. 12 : 27). It 
is clear enough, from these and other similar passages, 
that St. Paul and the other writers of the JSTew Testa- 
ment did regard the Church as one external society in 
the midst of the world, testifying to the one Christ and 
Lord ; and that they never contemplated but one, except 
as it consisted of local congregations in the unity of one 
external fellowship. 

To dwell upon only a single passage, which is de- 



42 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

cisive, and is enough, as the Word of God, to compel 
our assent, we refer to that which is onr motto : " There 
is one body" (Eph. 4 : 4). St. Paul was exhorting the 
Ephesian disciples to Christian unity : " I, therefore, 
the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that ye walk 
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with 
all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbear- 
ing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity 
of the spirit in the bond of peace." This exhortation 
he enforces by several powerful considerations : " There 
is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one 
hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through 
all, and in you all." Here are no less than seven rea- 
sons, supposed to be familiar and admitted, for the en- 
forcement of Christian unity. At the head of these 
stands our motto, " There is one body." 

There was, then, but one Church recognized by 
these Ephesian disciples, and in this fact was a con- 
straining motive to unity. The phrase "one body" 
lias reference to the external organization of the 
Church, its outward unity and discipline ; for the word 
" body " is never employed in reference to any internal 
emotion or affection ; and, besides, it is followed by the 
assertion, " there is one spirit," as a separate and inde- 
pendent idea. For still another reason, it cannot mean 
" one body " in respect of affection, because the fact of 
there being " one body " is adduced for the very pur- 
pose of recommending a unity of affection, and there 
would be no argument at all, if the apostle is supposed 
to say : " Be ye all united in affection, because ye are all 
united in affection." St. Paul was never so weak, so 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 43 

inconsistent, as this. The phrase refers to the external 
unity of the Church, and thus the argument has great 
force : " There is one body, that is, one Church. Christ 
intends to have only one body, and his disciples must 
therefore keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of 
peace, and not divide or rend the body by dissensions, 
and thus thwart the purpose of Him who is the one 
Head over all things to the Church, which is His body." 
Thus this passage is unanswerable evidence that in the 
inspiration of St. Paul there is not, and ought not to 
be, but one outward visible Church. 

Reminding the reader that the Sacred Scriptures 
recognize but one Comprehensive Church, and that 
what the inspired apostles and founders of the Church 
maintained as great principles of duty have lost none 
of their force by the lapse of time or by the prevalence 
of discords (for " heaven and earth shall pass away, but 
my word," says the Lord, " shall not pass away "), we in- 
vite him still to accompany us in the further course of 
our reflections. 



CHAPTEE III. - 

Definition of Sectarisra — what it is not — what it is — essentially hostile — 
not realized. 

The Word of God declares that there is not, and 
ought not to be, but one Church. We propose to show 
that only one Church is necessary; and indeed, that 
more than this one, or rather that divisions of this one, 
prevent entirely the fulfillment of the objects of the 
Church. We propose then to show, what would other- 
wise have been appropriate in this place, the principles 
upon which the one outward and visible body of Christ 
— the one Comprehensive Church — must be organized. 

In the mean time, we wish to illustrate in the present 
chapter that which is the opposite of the one Christian 
Church, to define what is meant by sectarism. 

What is sectarism ? 

It is not diversity of religious opinions. This may 
co-exist with unity. 

It is not diversity of religious customs. This may 
co-exist with unity. 

It is not the association of " elective affinities " — i. e., 
the intimate communion of persons of similar habits 
and feelings and characters. This may co-exist with 
unity. 

It is simply a departure from the unity of Christ's 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 45 

one Church ; a forming of a new fellowship of believers, 
separate from the united fellowship of the previously 
existing body of believers ; the establishment of a new 
model of a Church. 

No body of men can be called sectaries in any repre- 
hensible sense, until they have proceeded beyond pro- 
testation, and even beyond non-communion, to the overt 
act of constructing a new Church. In this is the essence 
of sectarism — the rending or dividing of the " one body " 
of Christ, by the formation of another and (not only 
separate, but in its nature necessarily)' opposing ecclesias- 
tical organization. 

Sectarism originates in a most gross and grievous 
misapplication and abuse of the Scriptural principle, 
and the natural desire of unity. It looks for absolute 
unity, in disregard of the causes which limit the opera- 
tion of the social principle. It tends to continual sepa- 
ration, in order to secure the most exact assimilation. 
It looks for agreement in all things ; and when carried 
out in theory, as it is carried out in fact, it would make 
each man the single representative of his own sect, whose 
unity would be a unit. 

Contrariety or opposition, hostility, destructiveness 
toward others, are included in the very nature of sec- 
tarism, as may be easily proved. For there is but " one 
body." The sect is designed to be the model of this one 
body. The sect is the perfect model ; for if any other 
had been perfect, there had been no occasion for it. 
All other churches are defective, unfit to accomplish the 
legitimate objects of the Church of Christ ; so much so, 
that all the inconveniences and dangers of a universal 
change are to be encountered in order to supply the de- 



46 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

ficiency. All others, being so defective, should be aban- 
doned for the perfect model — should be destroyed ; and 
the new sect is presented as the one true Church for all. 

It may be denied that hostility, as we have repre- 
sented it, is implied in the very nature of the sect. It 
may be said that sects are not opposed to each other, but 
exist harmoniously, one being adapted to one class of 
human opinion and character, and others to other classes. 
But all this adaptation of circumstances to the varieties 
of human opinion and personal character may be found 
in unity ; so that for it sects are not necessary. And 
why must there be a new ministry, and new sacraments, 
and a new Church, and new terms of admission into it, 
and of communion with it ? And why may not a man 
join one without being obliged to abandon the others ? 
And why may he not be a member, in regular standing, 
of two or more sects at the same time, as he is of all 
separate local societies or churches of his own sect •? Be- 
cause sects have no reciprocal sympathies with each oth- 
er, although Christians have. Because, although Chris- 
tians desire to love each other, the sects, which hold 
them captive, are hostile. 

This, as we have described it, is sectarism, and these 
its consequences. Yet we do really believe that the 
great majority of the Christian people of our land have 
never troubled themselves to analyze the matter, and 
have not realized the consequences implied in their sec- 
tarian divisions. 



CHAPTER IV. 

No necessity of divisions in our day — apology for the Continental Reform- 
ers — reply to several alleged advantages of divisions and objections to 
unity — the "Word of God decisive — importance of considering the sub- 
ject — a state of division a state of sin — indifference the cause of its 
continuance — Christians should be in earnest to do their duty. 

There is no necessity, either of duty or of circum- 
stances, in our age and in our country, for sectarian divi- 
sions. There is no reason why there should be more than 
one Comprehensive Church, at this time, in the United 
States. 

We do not intend, in these pages, to dispute the 
point whether there ever has been a necessity for divi- 
sions in times past ; although we are willing to state our 
opinion that, if the full scope of the duties of Christian 
forbearance and of faith in the providence and promises 
of God be considered, divisions can in no case be ex- 
cused. But God forbid that we should blame the Con- 
tinental Reformers ! They were Christian heroes and 
had glorious hearts. They were men who felt that they 
had a great work to do ; and they were willing, for its 
accomplishment, to " jeopard their lives unto the death." 
Eo wonder if, in their agonizing impatience for the tri- 
umph of truth and liberty, they did sometimes err. 
They were men who, like " the three mighty " of Da- 
vid, were willing to dare thick hosts alone, for the Cap- 



43 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 

tain of their salvation ; and if, in a single case, like those 
valiant ones, these purchased a blessing too dearly, we 
must remember for their justification that these also 
had heard the voice of their Captain, saying sorrowfully : 
" O that one would give me drink of the water of the 
well of Bethlehem ! " 

But, granting for the occasion that in the Kef orma- 
tion there was a necessity, in the instances referred to, 
for a departure from the unity of the Church (and only 
on this plea of an absolute and unavoidable necessity 
did the Continental Eef ormers excuse their proceedings), 
we assert that, in our age and country, there is no suffi- 
cient cause nor apology for perpetuating the divisions 
which are rending the body of Christ. The Word of 
God commands unity, and there can be no possible 
good to counterbalance the evil of disobedience. 

Not to enlarge, however, upon this supreme authori- 
ty (one, be it remembered, of tremendous significance, 
and decisive upon the topic), it will be in order to allude 
to the position, that various good effects are incidentally 
accomplished by the diversities of sects. We can con- 
ceive of none which shall warrant the violation of the 
divine command. 

Besides, there is abundant reason to believe that 
these incidental advantages of schism, which are so 
much boasted of, may after all be accomplished to a 
much greater extent in a state of unity. 

Thus, for an illustration, the preservation of the in- 
tegrity of the Scriptures, which, some think, is aided by 
the opposition and watchful jealousy of sects, might be 
equally secured by unity ; for in a state of sectarian con- 
troversy there are multiplied temptations to pervert and 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 49 

corrupt the Scriptures. The zealous sectarian, who 
should discover some ancient and rare manuscript, might 
destroy it or change it to suit his purpose — a circum- 
stance which would not be so likely to happen in a state 
of unity. Indeed, Biblical scholars, who are familiar 
with the collation of the various readings of the New 
Testament manuscripts, know that the chief difficulties 
in settling the sacred text have been occasioned as often 
by the corruptions of sectaries as by the emendations of 
critics or the negligence of scribes. 

Thus, to take another illustration, the zeal which is 
said to be the product of divisions is often perverted 
into extravagance and superstition, and still oftener 
overmatched by the coldness and skepticism which are 
another product of the same divisions ; while the his- 
tory of the first three centuries shows that the most 
active and heroic zeal is perfectly compatible with the 
unity of the Church. 

Thus, too, the tyranny, which is said to be the effect 
of unity, is much more the effect of divisions. Over 
our whole country are the mournful proofs. The ten- 
dency of sects is to imprison men within the most 
straitened limits of the most straitened party ; while 
the unity of a universal Church requires that it be 
based on certain grand and comprehensive principles, 
which shall include all varieties and classes of men, and, 
of course, allow necessarily great liberty of conscience 
and action. 

We have not time to consider all the objections 
which have been made to ecclesiastical unity.* We 

* We wish to remind the reader, as we pass along, that wherever we 
have spoken of a united Church, or of ecclesiastical unity, we use the 
3 



50 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

have touched upon the chief of them. "We would, 
however, shut up all objections to it, and comprise all 
arguments for it within the broad statement of the 
Word of God, " There is one body." 

If union be possible, nothing should be allowed to 
restrain us from its accomplishment ; for one thing is 
certain — that every Christian, -while he is out of the 
unity of Christ's Church (wheresoever that unity be), is, 
it may be ignorantly, in a state of sin ; he is violating a 
first principle and a first precept of the New Testament. 
It becomes, then, an interesting question— nay, it is a 
question of the most serious moral responsibility : How 
shall the unity of Christ's Church be restored? "We 
ought not to rest until the question is satisfactorily an- 
swered. Alas ! there is an amazing indifference upon 
the public mind as to this duty of unity — a duty as ex- 
plicitly enjoined as that of personal holiness — a duty, 
indeed, whose fulfillment is one test of holiness, one 
mark of a true Christian character. 

The chief cause of this indifference is in the fact 
that the subject is not enough discussed. The very 
guides — the watchmen and examples of Christ's flock 
— have been themselves indifferent ; they have had so 
much to do in discussing other questions — perhaps ab- 
struse, and only in the philosophy of religion — that the 
great practical duty of uniting and " gathering into one 
fold Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad, and His 
children who are in the midst of this naughty world," 
has been overlooked. 

terms in contradistinction from a consolidated Church ; we refer to a 
Church organized upon the primitive principles alluded to in our First 
Chapter. The principles upon which the Comprehensive Church must be 
organized wili be stated more directly in our Sixth Chapter. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 51 

Our desire is to call up this question for discussion 
— not a little narrow question of sectarianism, but the 
great question of Scriptural unity. It is time to pro- 
pose a plan of ecclesiastical unity ; it is time to discuss 
the plan directly and fully. We have been discussing 
for years all around this great question : " What shall 
be the plan ? " as if we were afraid of it. We have been 
lamenting over our discords. Now, let us go to work 
in earnest at the great final and decisive question. The 
world will then give us credit for sincerity. And if 
we are really in earnest, we shall soon have a scheme 
that will suit us all. 



CHAPTER V. 

Evils of sectarism — it disobeys a Divine command — involves the conse" 
quences charged upon unity — produces a false idea of the Church — 
extends and perpetuates error — wastes the energies of the Church — 
prevents the conversion of the world — is the most efficient obstacle to 
Christian union. 

The proposition that there can never be Christian 
union, except npon the basis of ecclesiastical unity, may 
be best illustrated by a brief statement of some of the 
evils of sectarism. 

The evils of sectarism (it being what we have de- 
fined in our Third Chapter) are manifold and appall- 
ing. We will notice some of the most manifest and 
indisputable. 

It is disobedience (as was shown in our Second 
Chapter) to the command of God. 

It involves (as was seen in our Fourth Chapter, the 
last) the very consequences which have been charged 
upon a state of unity : corruption, and spiritual coldness, 
as well as extravagant notions and habits, and skepticism 
as well as superstition and tyranny. We need not re- 
peat nor extend our observations upon these points. 

It produces upon the public mind (as was hinted at 
in our First Chapter) a mistaken and most injurious 
conception of the nature and design of the Christian 
Church. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 53 

These evils are each, of vast magnitude, and might 
be illustrated even in volumes. But others are to be 
mentioned. 

It extends and perpetuates error ; and this natur- 
ally and fatally. Differences of opinion, on a thousand 
matters of philosophy or custom, which in themselves 
are of no consequence whatsoever, are yet, in the minds 
of narrow, or ignorant, or domineering men, made the 
occasions of new sects. Each sect is put forward as a 
new model for the Church of Christ, of course to be 
perpetual and universal. The very fact of separation, 
which shuts in the adherents of a doctrine to their own 
system, and excludes all the natural and tentative in- 
fluences of extraneous circumstances upon them, gives 
an artificial and compulsory divrability to the system. 
So that, even if it be a glaring and dangerous delusion, 
which, under natural and tentative influences, would 
have died out in a night, the peculiar point of distinc- 
tion on which the sect is founded is thenceforth per- 
petuated, to the injury of the truth and the damage of 
souls. The history of sects demonstrates our assertion. 
There are the sad and soul-sickening proofs before the 
eyes of us all. 

It wastes the energies of the Ch urch. These might 
otherwise be concentrated upon the noble support of 
religious institutions at home, and the spread of the 
gospel abroad. Now they are squandered in the main- 
tenance of domestic strifes. If all the Christians of 
our land were in a united Church, and all the minis- 
ters of the various denominations were its ministers, we 
should then have ministers enough already for all the 
portions of our land, of which many are now so desti- 



54 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

tute, and we should have scores, perhaps hundreds, left 
for the heathen. If all the money which is paid by the 
various denominations in the support of their domestic 
clergy and peculiar institutions were collected into one 
sum, there would be enough for the liberal support of 
all those ministers of that united Church, and thou- 
sands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of dollars left for 
the heathen. If all the time and talent and personal 
effort which are expended by the members of the vari- 
ous denominations for objects solely sectarian were ap- 
plied directly to the improvement of society, and the 
moral renovation of the careless and sinful, there would 
be glorious results — how glorious, God only can reveal. 

It not only delays, it irremediably prevents the con- 
version of the world. The prayer of our Redeemer to 
the Father for his members was, " that they all may be 
one, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." 
And when Christianity is presented to the unbeliever, 
whether he be a speculative or only a practical unbe- 
liever, and even if he have been educated in a Christian 
land, as a scheme of divisions and controversies, he is 
confounded, or excuses himself by the ready reply: 
" God is not the author of confusion, but of unity." 
The heathen, too, believe that in religion, as in all the 
works of God, there must be a manifest uniformity, and 
their systems, although filled with corruptions, yet have 
breadth and singleness ; and when Christianity is pre- 
sented to them under the direction of conflicting sects, 
can it appear as anything better than a scheme of dis- 
putatious philosophy, or perhaps a weak superstition 
more miserable than their own % 

It is the most efficient obstacle to Christian union. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 55 

that is. the union of Christian hearts, affections, sym- 
pathies, and efforts. Herein is the deepest, the most 
insidious, the most far-reaching evil. Hereby it 
" wounds the Lord Christ in the house of his friends." 
It is impossible that there ever can be such a thing as 
a spiritual unity, a confidential sympathy, a free and 
undoubting and nought-withholding trust, a pure and 
perfect love, and a healthy and vigorous cooperation, 
among those who are all contending that their own 
peculiar points of difference are sufficiently important 
for the establishment of a new and separate Church, 
and that the views of others are so defective as to ren- 
der their ecclesiastical organizations unworthy of being 
considered proper churches ; for all this is implied (as 
was shown in our third chapter) in the separate exist- 
ence and organization of every peculiar sect. Every 
sect, in the very fact of its existence, unchurches every 
other sect as well as the unity from which it separated ; 
for each sect assumes to be the model of the one Church, 
and the very idea of the Church is universality. It is 
evident, therefore, from what we know of the philosophy 
of the mind, the laws which regulate the affections of 
men, and which define absolutely the mode in which 
those affections shall be developed, and which point 
with unerring precision to the causes which check the 
free exercise of human sympathies — it is evident, in 
other words, from what we know of the moral nature 
of man, that Christians can never be united in heart 
and effort while they hold their ecclesiastical connec- 
tion with separate sects, each, certainly in the estimation 
of its partisans, the only proper model of the universal 
Church. 



56 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

And, we ask, does not experience everywhere in 
our land confirm the teachings of philosophy 1 Chris- 
tians are, not united; they are very far from unity. 
Why? There is no reason under heaven but sect. 
There is no reason why the Christians in my township 
and neighborhood, and in your township and neighbor- 
hood, my Christian brother, are not now united, except 
sect. We are all prepared for union, and longing for 
it, and we are only waiting for the demolition of these 
artificial and cruel barriers of merely human, not to say 
diabolical, erection. How long shall we sit down in 
sadness by the strange waters of our captivity, and hang 
the harps of Zion upon its willows, and sigh for " the 
peace of Jerusalem " — that city which is "at unity in 
itself " ? O that scattered Israel would return in bands 
once more to the quiet home of their fathers, bringing 
with them the riches of wisdom which have been 
gathered in their wanderings, and rebuild and beautify 
the one temple ; and realize again the fulfillment of 
prophecy : " The glory of this latter house shall be 
greater than of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts ; 
and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of 
Hosts ! " 

Philosophers are looking for a millennium of knowl- 
edge and social happiness, and Christians connect with 
it, in their anticipations, a millennium of holiness. But 
one thing is sure : that there never can be a millennium 
of holiness, a glorious spiritual reign of the Lord Jesus, 
while sectarism continues. Christians of pure hearts, 
who strive to live at unity, if such there be, are already 
prepared for that millennium ; and all who bear the name 
of Christ might now be enjoying its blessedness, if it 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 57 

were not for their divisions. While they continue 
divided, they cannot have perfect confidence in each 
other, which is necessary to perfect love. If the most 
pious out of all the denominations should be thrown 
together, however much they might respect the religious 
principles of each other, and desire to be unreservedly 
affectionate toward each other, still there would be the 
thought in each mind that the denominational interests 
of his brethren are entirely opposed to his own ; that 
his brethren regard him as in a great error; that he 
himself regards them as in an equally great error; 
that each is practically intolerant, demanding the en- 
tire submission of the others to his own terms ; that as 
sectarians (or members of different churches, each the 
model of the one Church, and therefore unchurching 
the others), they cannot have fellowship with each 
other, or even consistently say so much as " God speed " 
to each other ; and this thought of their separation, the 
distance between them, the contrariety of their ecclesi- 
astical systems, to which each is conscientiously at- 
tached, and whose extension he is seeking and loving 
and praying for — this thought, I say, would come and 
pass smooth and cold, like a flake of ice, between their 
hearts, and prevent their assimilation into one brother- 
hood. While their religious interests are in such im- 
portant respects hostile, Christians cannot be all, in the 
highest sense, brethren. So that, if the gospel banner 
were hung out upon every sky, and every man and woman 
and child on the face of the earth acknowledged the 
truth of the Bible and the claims of Christ, just as the 
very best of Christians now do, and all were communi- 
cants, trained and professing, yet in a diversity of sects, 



58 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

as Christians now are, after all there would be no mil- 
lennium forever ; for there could be no Christian union, 
and without that there can be no glorious reign of our 
Redeemer. 

We can conceive of a class of readers in our large 
cities, who will not appreciate the full force of these 
last remarks. We grant that, in our large and growing 
cities the most repulsive features of sectarism are not 
fully developed. There great masses of population are 
collected. As fast as churches are built and congrega- 
tions formed, men are found to fill and to sustain them. 
Denominational interests do not conflict, and rivalry is 
not selfish and deceitful and mean and wicked. But 
when all the varieties of the vast metropolis are trans- 
ferred to a country district, which is barely able to sup- 
port one church, the state of things is changed. Our 
distinction is manifest; we need not dilate upon it. 
Our own observation and experience have discovered 
more of actual evil than we should presume to declare, 
if we were only theorizing. Now the world is made 
up of the country. Large cities are but small spots 
scattered occasionally upon its surface. And we want 
a Christian union which is practicable for the whole 
world. 

We have dwelt longer upon the concluding propo- 
sition in the present chapter, because it is more imme- 
diately connected with the direct course of our reason- 
ings. We wish to present distinctly to the mind of the 
reader what is so manifest to our own, the principle 
that Christian union can never be effected except upon 
the basis of ecclesiastical unity. 



CHAPTER VI. 

There must be a Comprehensive Church — its fundamental principles — 
determined by the nature and objects of the Church — universality 
and unity — liberty and law— compromise and conformity — contrast 
between the Comprehensive Church and sectarism. 

There must, we have concluded, be one Compre- 
hensive Church, in which all Christian people may be 
united, and Christian union be realized. On what 
fundamental principles shall it be organized ? 

These principles must be determined by the nature 
and objects of a Church. The Church is the body of 
Christ, to be filled with His dispositions, and to be 
guided and governed by His Spirit. It is the repre- 
sentative of Christ on earth. It is to receive and deal 
with men precisely as the Lord Jesus Himself would 
do, if He were on earth. It must welcome to its bosom 
all who are willing to be taught of Jesus and to bear His 
cross, all who have come to Him and acknowledge Him 
as the Master. It is to demean itself toward men with 
all the gentleness and forbearance, with all the persua- 
siveness and love, which distinguished its Head while 
He was upon the earth. It must forgive the penitent, 
and discriminate sincerity, and put up with human 
ignorance and infirmity, just as He did. It must never 
repel any whom Christ would not have repelled. It 



60 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

must even tolerate prejudices and error, if they be harm- 
less, or not essentially in the way of human holiness and 
salvation.* Such a Church need not be divided ; for 
its work is simple, and its rule of duty is broad — its 
work is the propagation of the truth of Christ, and its 
rule of duty is the example of Christ. 

There are two characteristics, to be somewhat more 
minute, which must always appertain to the body 
which illustrates the true idea of the Church. The one 
is universality ; that is, the Church must be so consti- 
tuted that it may take in, on equal terms, and the easi- 
est terms possible in the case, all true disciples of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. The other principle is unity ; be- 
cause, being free to all disciples of Christ, it excludes 
none, and leaves no necessity nor provocation for divi- 
sion. This principle, too, is necessary, because the 
Master has enjoined it upon his disciples, who constitute 
His Church, and because only by it can the new and 
great Christian commandment be enforced : " Love one 
another." f 

* As illustrations of this duty of the Church even to bear with error 
if it be not essentially injurious to holiness and salvation — the great ends 
of the Church — we refer to the decree of the college or council of apos- 
tles, elders, and brethren, recorded in the fifteenth chapter of the Acts ; 
also to the vow of St. Paul, and the circumcision of Timothy. Also we 
quote the principle (1 Corinthians 8: 9, passim): " Take heed lest by any 
means this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling-block to them that are 

weak When ye wound the weak conscience of the brethren, ye 

sin against Christ." 

f As the Church is composed of men, whose relative circumstances in 
different civil communities must affect their external ecclesiastical rela- 
tions, there are natural and physical limits to the application of these 
principles — the limits of national or civil boundaries. Yet even an 
actual universality and unity for the whole world might be attained were 
it possible to realize the beautiful conception of the ancient Church — a 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 61 

It appears, moreover, from the fact that the Church 
is a society of inert for a particular purpose, that it 
must have law ; while, from the fact of its embracing 
such extensive varieties of mental and personal charac- 
ter in its members, it must also allow great liberty of 
opinion and action. The least law needed to secure its 
objects, and the greatest liberty in all things which do 
not interfere with those objects, are also cardinal prin- 
ciples to be applied in the formation of a Church which 
shall correspond to its true idea. 

In attempting to settle the system of such a Church, 
we see, at the outset, that there must be compromise in 
a thousand comparatively unimportant particulars ; we 
mean, particulars for which individual Christians may 
have preference, but which are not really and indis- 
pensably important to the grand objects of the Church ; 
while, as immediately correspondent with this, there 
must be conformity by all upon those points which are 
generally held important to the character and constitu- 
tion of the Church. The basis upon which the settle- 
ment of the system shall proceed must be — compromise 
in matters acknowledged by all to be relatively non- 
essentials, conformity in matters received by each to be 
essential. Thus both liberty and law can be secured, 
and universality and unity together be effected. 

We have not time for detail in showing the working 
of these principles toward promoting the perfection of 
the Church. We state the principles, that our reader 
may test their propriety in his thoughts. 

We cannot dismiss this topic, however, without oc- 

continual succession of General Councils, which should accurately represent 
the sense of the majority of all the clergy and laity of the Christian world. 



62 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

cupying one moment in contrasting this, as we believe 
it to be, the trne idea of the Church of Christ with the 
true idea of sectarism. The reader is requested to keep 
in mind the definition of sectarism in our third chap- 
ter. 

The Church is founded upon unity and universality. 

Sectarism is founded upon unity without univer- 
sality. 

The Church is founded upon law and liberty. 

Sectarism is founded upon law without liberty. 

The Church is founded upon conformity and com- 
promise. 

Sectarism is founded upon conformity without com- 
promise. 

The Church, in its practical operation, produces for- 
bearance. 

Sectarism, in its practical operation, produces intol- 
erance. 

The Church requires practically, from all its mem- 
bers (and Christ's disciples must have " a cross daily "), 
some self-denial. 

Sectarism allows practically to all its members the 
utmost self-indulgence. 

As we aim at brevity, our readers are requested to 
try for themselves these points of contrast, and see if 
they are not correctly stated. We wish them also to 
recollect that we are discussing principles, and desire to 
do so candidly and thoroughly ; and withal, we would 
not be supposed to intend disrespect toward any exist- 
ing denominations in our land. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Notice of certain denominational peculiarities — a Comprehensive Church 
for our age and country practicable — no existing Christian denomina- 
tion should be excluded from the Comprehensive Church, neither 
Protestant Episcopalians nor non-Episcopalians — a question for pious 
non-Episcopalians. 

We have noticed the principles upon which the 
Comprehensive Church must be organized. And we 
inquire: Is the construction of such a Church in the 
nineteenth century, and in the United States, imprac- 
ticable ? Is there any natural impossibility or hindrance 
to prevent the formation of such a Church which may 
unite the various and now opposing denominations of 
Christians in our country ? We think not. Such a 
Church may be constructed upon the principles which 
have been just laid down, even if none such does now, 
as we believe such does, exist. 

To illustrate our view : One denomination holds that 
the apostolical and regular ministry of the Church is in 
three orders — Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons. Oth- 
ers are of the opinion that any particular arrangement 
of the ministry is unimportant, so long as the essential 
idea of a ministry — or, as with some, of a ministry of 
Presbyters — is preserved. The same denomination holds 
that on certain occasions the public use of a precom- 



64 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

posed Liturgy is necessary to stability, and edification, 
and harmony of the Church. Others have never been 
habituated to the use of a Liturgy on any occasions ; 
and some lay great stress upon the advantages of extem- 
poraneous prayers, and of various social meetings for 
religious improvement. A second denomination thinks 
" that the government of the Church should be mainly in 
the hands of the clergy ; a third, that it should be main- 
ly in the hands of the laity. A fourth contends that 
only adults should be baptized, and then by immersion ; 
while others think that infants also may be baptized, 
and that sprinkling or affusion of water is equally justi- 
fiable with immersion or with dipping. Some contend 
that no creeds should be required of men to admit them 
to the benefit of the Christian Sacraments. Others sup- 
pose that creeds are important in the arrangements of a 
well-ordered Church. JSTot to extend the illustration, 
it will be perceived that there are a great many points 
upon which the various denominations are agreed, and 
that the distinctive idea in each sect is a prominence of 
some one particular point of ecclesiastical belief or disci- 
pline. 

Furthermore, the one distinctive point in each of 
these various denominations is generally a truth. Each 
has gone off upon a single idea, and this a true one, 
but made disproportionally prominent among the many 
ideas to be embraced in a body designed to represent 
the one universal Church. St. Augustine has uttered 
the aphorism : " Nulla falsa religio sine veritate — there 
is no false religion without a truth in it." And it is 
this truth which sustains the system that holds it as well 
as the errors associated with it in the system. Much 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 65 

more does the aphorism apply to the several Christian 
denominations which hold the main articles of the 
Christian faith as contained in the Apostles' Creed. 
Each accepts and testifies to some one truth of belief 
or of order, which it emphasizes, and in reference to 
which it has been established. Thus Presbyterianism 
is based upon the idea of the power of presbyters in the 
government of the Church. Congregationalism' or In- 
dependency is constituted upon the power of the laity 
in the same. Methodism affirrns the liberty of the wor- 
shipper in the assemblies of believers. Quakerism gives 
its testimony to the essential necessity of the spiritual 
and subjective element in genuine religion. Romanism 
asserts a compact discipline, and the natural need of an 
objective cultus. Unitarianism is an organized protest 
against the unjust minutiaB and over-particularity of 
creeds. The United Presbyterians stand for a purely 
Scriptural worship. The Baptists maintain that a per- 
sonal and conscious confession of Christ is vitally in- 
volved in the Christian baptism. Pedobaptists con- 
tend that infants and little children are proper subjects 
of Christian baptism. Now each one of these several 
ideas expresses a great truth. They seem to a careless 
observer to be inconsistent with each other, and posi- 
tively irreconcilable. But they do really harmonize. 
They ought, all of them and every one of them, to be 
exhibited and combined in the one Church. Why may 
not all these denominations slide into one Compre- 
hensive Church, that shall recognize and reconcile them 
all — in which each man, while he is indulged with his 
own favorite idea, shall allow to his brother a similar 
indulgence — in which no man shall sacrifice anything 



66 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

deemed by liim essential, but all shall have what all 
hold to be essential ? "We think that we can be so 
united. 

Eeminding the reader of the conclusion to which we 
have arrived — that it is possible to unite all the existing 
Christian denominations of our country into one Church 
— we wish to lead his mind to the same conclusion by yet 
another short path, by suggesting the question : Shall 
any of the existing Christian denominations of our coun- 
try be excluded from the Comprehensive Church ? 

Shall any one of the denominations of non-Episco- 
palians be excluded ? 

Of course, they will, in answering each for them- 
selves, say they ought not any of them to be excluded. 
And we, as a Protestant Episcopalian, say they have 
answered rightly ; they ought not to be excluded — for 
every disciple of Christ (according to the theory of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church) should be welcome to all 
the privileges of His Church. 

Shall the Protestant Episcopal Church be excluded ? 

"We suppose that Protestant Episcopalians are to be 
included in any plan of Christian unity ; for they are 
Christians ; and, if so, their peculiar traits must be found 
in the united Church. They are willing to compromise, 
if need be, in a thousand matters comparatively unim- 
portant. But they wish to be considered, and expect 
to be indulged in what they hold to be essential to the 
constitution of a regular Christian Church. And they 
ought, upon the fair principles of union, to be so con- 
sidered and indulged, certainly when others believe their 
ministry to be essentially sound, or at least look upon 
their peculiarities as among the matters of indifference. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. G7 

Tliis inference, that in the united Church there must 
be a recognition of their main peculiarities, is unavoid- 
able, if they are to be included in the plan of union. 
And shall they be excluded ? Shall a body of Protestant 
Christians, so extensive, and having in it so much of in- 
telligence, and learning, and piety, as is acknowledged 
in their case, be excluded from the plan of unity, be un- 
churched by their brethren, not more intelligent nor more 
learned nor more pious, simply because they are con- 
scientiously persuaded that a ministry of three orders 
is apostolical and Scriptural, and that the use of a Liturgy 
on certain public occasions is primitive and reasonable, 
while all the time, too, their brethren look upon these 
matters of their conscience as non-essentials ? Surely, 
they must be included in the plan of unity. 

The reader will recollect that it was stated in our 
sixth chapter, and illustrated in a note by several Scrip- 
tural examples, to be the duty of the Church of Christ 
even to tolerate prejudices and error, if they be harm- 
less, or not essentially in the way of human holiness and 
salvation. To apjDly this principle, as supported by the 
examples there adduced, to the unity of the Church, 
we argue that if any are very strenuous, conscientiously 
persuaded, on some point not deemed essential by others, 
then it is the duty of the free to bear with the weakness 
or error of their brethren, and indulge them. Thus, if 
Protestant Episcopalians are conscientiously persuaded 
of the necessity of three orders to a regular ministry 
(and in fact, this is the only point to be pressed, the use 
of a Liturgy not being held, even by Episcopalians, to 
be essential in the theory of an Episcopal Church), and 
if others recognize in their orders the essential idea of a 



68 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

ministry, but hold its three-fold character unimportant, 
would not the Scriptural principle and precedents here 
referred to warrant and indispensably require the reten- 
tion of the three orders in the united Church ? Would 
not the Church thus be adapted to more minds, we 
further urge, without losing anything essential to its 
objects f These questions are worth the consideration 
of all Christians. They admit but one answer. 

There is another question for pious non-Episcopa- 
lians. Since Protestant Episcopalians have never set 
up a new Church, but have always continued in the 
unity of the old historic body, modifying and adapting 
it to the wants of society, and since they are willing to 
be at one with all Christian people, if there be no effort 
to form a united Church, in which their conscientious 
peculiarities shall be considered and incorporated, who 
will be responsible for the sin of continuing the divisions 
of the body of Christ ? 

We conclude that all the existing Christian denomi 
nations of our country may be and ought to be united 
into one Comprehensive Church. 



CHAPTER Yin. 

Is there now in the United States a Comprehensive Church, combining 
into one harmonious system the " distinctive peculiarities " of all the 
denominations ? — Is it any Church of non-Episcopalians ? — Is it the 
Protestant Episcopal Church ? — A plan of unity proposed — the writ- 
er's apology for his proposition — the existing system of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church proposed as a basis of Christian and ecclesiastical 
unity — may appear strange — a candid judgment solicited. 

Granting, now, for the purpose of our argument, 
that all the denominational churches in our country 
stand upon exactly the same level, as regards the vexed 
question of divine right, and touching simply the ques- 
tion of their expediency, or rather of their practicability 
for the particular object of uniting the divided Church, 
we ask : Is there any Church now existing among us, 
which shall supply to our hands the instrumentalities 
we need ; any capable of receiving us all liberally, and 
without subjecting any of us to unnecessary humiliation, 
and capable of being itself reformed, or changed, or im- 
proved into just such a system as we all shall be willing 
to sustain? Which of all the denominational churches 
is best qualified for the purposes of unity ? Which is 
the Comprehensive Church? 

Is it any one of the various ecclesiastical systems of 
non-Episcopalians ? 



70 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

"We think not ; because, as appears to us, they are 
none of them founded upon the principles which have 
been laid down, in our sixth chapter, as necessary to 
such a Church ; because they are in many respects or- 
ganized so as to be essentially in distinct contrariety to 
each other; and especially, because they all, without 
any exception, have made no provision for such an ar- 
rangement of the ministry as Protestant Episcopalians 
think to be essential to the regular constitution of a 
Christian Church. We are stating our view frankly ; 
yet we would not, on any account, be rash nor unkind. 
If our views are erroneous, we shall be glad to see them 
disproved. 

Is it the Protestant Episcopal Church ? 

We think it is ; "because, in its system, those points 
which its own members hold essential, and which are 
not provided for in any other system, are distinctly 
recognized ; and because those points which are held es- 
sential by the various other denominations are also dis- 
tinctly recognized and amply provided for in its sys- 
tem. These remarks will be illustrated at length in our 
next chapter. 

To speak plainly at once, the writer believes that, in 
the existing system of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in the United States, there is comprehensiveness enough 
for the purposes of a universal Christian and ecclesi- 
astical unity in our country. 

So peculiar has been the influence of circumstances 
that few, if any, out of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
have ever viewed it in this character as furnishing a 
basis or platform upon which Christians may unite. 
And it is feared that few even of Episcopalians have 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 71 

clear views of the comprehensiveness of their own 
Church. 

The writer, as appears from the title-page, is a com- 
mnnicant and a minister of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, and in this fact he finds his warrant for engag- 
ing in his present task ; for he thinks that a member of 
his Church has (for the reasons just hinted at, and 
which will presently be expanded) an advantage in pro- 
posing and discussing the plan of unity over the mem- 
bers of other denominations. He would not be under- 
stood to say that the members of his Church have gen- 
erally more enlarged views of this subject than other 
Christians. It is too true that there are many of our 
own people who, in the midst of divisions, have 
nourished a sectarian spirit. Yet such, he does not 
hesitate to say, have not imbibed the spirit of their own 
system, which has no sympathy with anything that is 
narrowing or exclusive or despotic. We should be 
most unhappy if we thought ourselves in a Church 
from which any true disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ 
is excluded ; if we did not know that in its very or- 
ganization every other true disciple of our Master is 
welcome to all our privileges, however he may differ 
from us in opinion or talent or temperament or condi- 
tion ; nay, more, if he were not welcome to carry him- 
self as he may please (always, of course, being a Chris- 
tian), free in his diversity. 

For the sake of furthering the great duty and the 
great blessing of Christian unity, our design in this 
little book is to exhibit the Protestant Episcopal Church 
as it is. We shall not open the volumes of the Fathers, 
we shall not search antiquity, we shall not argue for 



72 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

the apostolical succession of bishops, nor for the primi- 
tive establishment of liturgies ; we do not intend to 
rake open the ashes of buried controversies, nor to add 
another brand to any fire of contention which is now 
raging. We simply invite the Christians of our coun- 
try who long for unity, and for a pure fraternal sym- 
pathy among brethren, to forget for a moment that they 
have ever been at variance, and to lay aside the un- 
favorable and prejudicial associations of past disagree- 
ments, and to examine with a candid spirit the system 
which we propose. We assert distinctly that in the 
system of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as it is, 
there are instrumentalities, diversified and expansive, 
for the union of all Christian people in " one body and 
one spirit / " that it is broad enough to maintain in 
one fellowship, both external and internal, all true dis- 
ciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. We assert that in the 
Protestant Episcopal Church are the elements of the 
most exact uniformity, as also of the most extensive 
variety. 

Our assertion may sound strangely, but those who 
will favor our book with a candid perusal shall find it 
sustained. All we ask is that our system shall be fairly 
and liberally examined. Our aim is unity. We pro- 
pose a plan for its accomplishment, and desire to elicit 
the whole truth which concerns it. We are grieved 
and wearied with the consequences of division. On 
every side are brethren who might be one with us and 
with each other, but we are all separated by artificial 
walls — barriers never appointed of God, barriers of 
merely human construction, barriers always and even 
laboriously kept high and strong, but for whose exist- 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 73 

ence and perpetuity there is not the least reason in the 
world. True it is that Christians mourn over their 
divisions ; we should all rejoice, our land would resound 
with hallelujahs, if we could all wake on the morrow 
and find ourselves united indeed in one Comprehensive 
Church. But alas ! our divisions exist ; and how shall 
we be made one ? 

Where is the Comprehensive Church ? 

Let us examine, without prejudices for or against it, 
the system of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States as it is. If it be feasible as a plan of 
unity, let it be embraced. If not, let its faults be 
shown, and let a better be substituted. 



CHAPTER IX. 

EXAMINATION OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 
AS IT IS. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church proposed as the Comprehensive Church 
— proposition explicit — to be sustained by facts — the reader invited 
to look at the outlines of the system of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church as a system for Christian and ecclesiastical unity — examina- 
tion to be distributed through twenty-one sections. 

We propose the system of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States, as it is, for a basis of 
Christian and ecclesiastical unity to all ths Christian 
people in our country. We propose it to their approval 
as the Comprehensive Church. 

Our proposition is broadly and explicitly stated ; 
and, if we fail in sustaining it by good reasons, our im- 
prudence will be manifest. But we know the ground 
we stand upon, and feel no necessity for speaking cau- 
tiously or with qualification. Furthermore, our pro- 
position is to be sustained by facts, and not merely by 
abstract disquisition, so that we cannot be sophistical if 
we would 

We proceed to an examination of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States for one special 
purpose — to discover whether it he not a system capable 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 75 

of uniting the separated denominations of Christians 
into one Church. 

In conducting this examination, we shall not advance 
the private theories or speculations of any individuals 
who are or have been connected with the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. Individuals alone are responsible 
for their peculiar views. Neither shall we exhibit all 
the minute details of the system ; for a treatise so ex- 
tensive would be inconsistent with our design and our 
limits. 

We shall look at the outlines of the system. We 
shall mark its main proportions, with which all the mi- 
nute arrangements must harmonize. 

After giving, 1st, a Definition of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States, we shall devel- 
op the fundamental principles of its organization, un- 
der the several following sections : 2. Members. 3. Ter- 
ritorial Divisions. 4. Laws. 5. Government. 6. Or- 
dination and Duties of Ministers. 7. Eights of the 
Bishops and Clergy. 8. Admission to the Sacraments. 
9. Creeds. 10. Doctrine. 11. Discipline. 12. Public 
"Worship. 13. Eights of the Laity. 14. Baptism. 15. 
Confirmation, the sequel or complement of Infant Bap- 
tism. 16. The Supper of the Lord. 17. Literary, Ed- 
ucational, Benevolent, and Missionary Associations. 18. 
Liberty. 19. Adaptiveness. 20. Religious Devotion 
and Action. 21. Comprehensive Traits. 



7g THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 



SECTION I. 

DEFINITION OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE 
UNITED STATES. 

It is not the Church of Rome— it is not the Church of England— it is a 
Christian and Protestant American Church — at unity with the ancient 
and universal Church of Christ. 

"What is the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the 
United States % 

I. It is not the Church of Kome, nor does it hold 
any connection or communion with that Church. Its 
standards of prayer and of doctrine all contain, some 
designedly and more undesignedly, a protest against 
the errors and anti-catholic claims of the Church of 
Rome. 

For our educated readers, and others who have been 
at all acquainted with the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
the above assertion is sufficient ; but as many persons, 
otherwise intelligent, who have never been familiar with 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, have a vague idea of 
something papistical about it, we are induced, for the 
benefit of such, to explain a little further. 

The 19th Article of Religion of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church reads, in its latter clause, thus : " As the 
Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch have 
erred, so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only 
in their living and manner of ceremonies, but also in 
matters of faith." 

The name of " the Protestant Episcopal Church " 
should be sufficient to absolve it from all suspicions of 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 77 

being inclined to the peculiarities of the Church of 
Borne. 

In the Homilies, which by the 35th Article are 
" declared to be an explication of Christian doctrine, and 
instructive in piety and morals," there are frequent re- 
bukes of the various errors of the Church of Rome, and 
sometimes in terms which the " ears polite " of a modern 
audience could not tolerate.* 

* To select a passage not so harsh as some others, yet decisive upon 
the point, we quote from the 28th Homily — the 16th of the 2d Book: 

" It is needful to teach you, first, what the true Church of Christ is ; 
and then confer the Church of Eome therewith, to discern how well they 
agree together. 

" The true Church is a universal congregation or fellowship of God's 
faithful and elect people, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and 
Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the Head Corner Stone. And it 
hath always three notes or marks, whereby it is known : Pure and sound 
doctrine ; the sacraments administered according to Christ's holy institu- 
tion ; and the right use of ecclesiastical discipline. This description of 
the Church is agreeable both to the Scriptures of God, and also to the 
doctrine of the ancient Fathers ; so that none may justly find fault there- 
with. 

" Now if you will compare this with the Church of Rome — not as it was 
in the beginning, but as it is at present, and hath been for the space of 
nine hundred years and odd — you shall well perceive the state thereof to 
be so far wide from the nature of the true Church that nothing can be 
more. For neither are they built upon the foundation of the Apostles 
and Prophets, retaining the sound and pure doctrine of Christ Jesus ; nei- 
ther yet do they order the sacraments, or else the ecclesiastical keys (dis- 
cipline), in such sort as he did first institute and ordain them. . . . 
(Proofs of the three charges are urged.) .... Which thing being true, as 
all they which have any light of God's word must needs confess, we may 
well conclude, according to the rule of Augustine (Contra Petilian. Donatist. 
Ep. Cap. 4), that the Bishops of Rome and their adherents are not the true 
Church of Christ, much less then to be taken as chief heads and rulers 
of the same. Whosoever, saith he, do dissent from the Scriptures con- 
cerning the head, although they be found in all places where the Church 



78 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

It is well to remind the reader that Cranmer, and Lati- 
mer, and Kidley, and Hooper, and Farrar, and other dis- 
tinguished martyrs were Protestant Episcopal Bishops ; 
and that John Rogers of famous memory, and Lawrence 
Saunders, and Bradford, and Taylor, as well as others 
who gave their testimony to Protestantism in the midst 
of the flames, were ministers of a lower grade (Presby- 
ters) of the Protestant Episcopal Church ; and that the 
most distinguished writers against the Poman Catholic 
scheme, including, with those just mentioned, such men 
as Barrow, and Chillingworth, and Hooker, and Jeremy 
Taylor, and Leslie, and Jewell, and of our own day, Mr. 
Faber, have been ministers likewise of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. 

It has become very much a fashion now-a-days to 
designate the Church of Pome as the Catholic Church, 
and to call its members and its dogmas by the name of 
Catholic / and uninformed persons- are therefore fre- 
quently surprised, while attending on the worship of 
Protestant Episcopalians, to hear them declare as one of 
the articles of their belief or Creed : " I believe in the 
Holy Catholic Church." Now, in this phrase the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church expresses a belief in the Holy 
Catholic (i. e., universal) Church, or, as it is elsewhere 
expressed in her daily prayers, " the Holy Church uni- 
versal — all who profess and call themselves Christians ;" 
and not in the narrow and exclusive scheme of the Po- 
man Catholic Church. Indeed, in the use of this phrase 
the Episcopal Church, which carries the name of Prot- 
estant as a part of its very title, unequivocally denies to 

is appointed, yet are they not in the Church : a plain place, concluding 
directly against the Church of Rome." 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 79 

the Church, of Rome (against whose errors the protest 
is made) any exclusive right to the name of Catholic, 
and by implication attributes to it a character directly 
opposite to that of the Holy Catholic Church in which 
a belief is professed. It is to be regretted that language 
is employed so loosely, and that by men who ought to 
know better, and who do know better, as not only to 
convey a false meaning, and to corrupt our language, 
but to destroy the sense of the old creeds of Christen- 
dom, and even to extend and to perpetuate grievous 
error of opinion in the community.* 

We may further state, that a grand principle of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church is — the primitive and ab- 
solute co-equality of Eishops ; and hence this Church 
can never have any sympathy with the Church of Borne, 
which seeks to elevate one Bishop to a vast height above 
all others. It may be affirmed, without fear of disproof, 
that Protestant Diocesan Episcopacy is the strongest bar- 
rier that can be reared against the principle of the 

* It may not be generally known that the Roman Catholics found an 
argument, very effective among the ignorant, for their claim of being 
the infallible and true Church, upon this very fact, that even Protestants 
call them " Catholic." Bishop Burnet, on the 19th Article, referring to 
Cardinal Bellarmine's assertions, writes thus : " The last way they (the 
Roman Catholics) take to find out this (true and infallible) Church by, is 
from some notes, that they pretend arc peculiar to her, such as the name 
Catholic, etc., together with the confession of their adversaries." In an- 
swering this argument, the Bishop proceeds : " Can it be thought that 
the assuming a name can be a mark ? Why is not the name Christian 
as solemn as Catholic ? Might not the Philosophers have concluded from 
hence against the first Christians, that they were, by the confession of all 
men, the true lovers of wisdom ; since they were called Philosophers much 
more unanimously than the Church of Rome was called Catholic ? " If 
the good Bishop had lived in our day and country, he could not thus have 
replied to the argument of the Romanist. 



gO THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

Papacy ; for, in all other systems, the natural tendency 
of things is to ecclesiastical monarchy — a supreme and 
controlling influence and power to be exercised, most 
absolutely because not defined by law, by the most 
crafty, or the most talented, or the most experienced, 
or the best. 

Our remarks might be extended to great length on 
this topic, but, we trust, enough has been said to illus- 
trate, even to the uninformed, the entire independence 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States 
from the Church of Kome. 

II. It is not the Church of England. It has no legal 
connection in any respect with England, nor with any 
other country whatsoever besides the United States, ex- 
cepting the connection, such as it is, of the sincere and 
earnest Christian sympathy it feels for the English 
Protestant Church (which is a very different thing from 
the English Government or the English Establishment 
of Church and State), and its connection, also, through 
its missionary undertakings, with countries ignorant of 
pure Christianity. 

To be sure, and we acknowledge the fact with grati- 
tude, it was originated by members of the Church of 
England ; to be sure, it was an English Church before 
it became American, just as the nation was English, 
and when it became American retained its language and 
its old common law in its new independence. Just so 
it is now an independent Church, just as the Congrega- 
tional and Presbyterian churches of this country, ori- 
ginally English, are independent of the Congregational 
and Presbyterian churches of England from which they 
originated. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 81 

To be sure, it loves the Church of the Lord Jesus 
Christ in England — its sister Church in respect of the 
equality of national churches, its mother Church in re- 
spect of historic descent and nursing care — the Church 
as separate from the State. But it has none of the in- 
cumbrances and . heavy drawbacks and chains upon it 
which the English State has forced, by the strong arm 
of secular power, upon the English Church. 

It is on terms of the most friendly, Christian, and 
ecclesiastical communion with the English Church. But 
it has no definite or dependent or confederate legal con- 
nection with the English Church whatsoever. It has 
become a national American Church. 

A quotation from the Preface to the American 
" Book of Common Prayer " will illustrate the forego- 
ing remarks : " The Protestant Episcopal Church in 
these States is indebted, under God, to the Church of 
England for her first foundation and a long- continu- 
ance of nursing care and protection. . . . But when, in 
the course of Divine Providence, these American States 
became independent with respect to civil government, 
their ecclesiastical independence was necessarily in- 
cluded ; and the different religious denominations of 
Christians in these States were left at full and equal 
liberty to model and organize their respective churches, 
and forms of worship, and discipline, in such manner as 
they might judge most convenient for their future pros- 
perity, consistently with the constitution and laws of 
their country." * 

* It will not be amiss to add another authoritative declaration to the 
same effect with that above quoted. It is a resolution of both houses of 
the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 



82 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

For its prominent doctrines, its various formularies 
for public worship and solemn occasions (with such 
slight alterations as local circumstances have required), 
its principles of free legislation, by which every member 
of every order in the Church is expected to have his 
share in all its legislative concerns* and finally, for the 
regular succession and order of its Bishops, the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church in the United States owes much 

States, passed May 20, 1814. We quote from Bioren's Journals, pp. 
310, 311. 

" The following declaration was proposed and agreed to (in the House 
of Bishops) : It having been credibly stated to the House of Bishops 
that, on questions in reference to property devised before the Revolu- 
tion to congregations belonging to ' The Church of England,' and to uses 
connected with that name, some doubts have been entertained with re- 
gard to the identity of the body to which the two names have been ap- 
plied, the House think it expedient to make the declaration, and to 
request the concurrence of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies 
therein : That ' The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of 
America ' is the same body heretofore known in these States by the 
name of ' The Church of England ; ' the change of name (although not 
of religious principle in doctrine, or in worship, or in discipline) being 
induced by a characteristic of the Church of England, supposing the in- 
dependence of Christian churches, under the different sovereignties to 
which respectively their allegiance in civil concerns belongs. But that, 
when the severance alluded to took place, and ever since, this Church 
conceives of herself as possessing and acting on the principles of the 
Church of England, is evident from the organization of our Conventions, 
and from their subsequent proceedings, as recorded on the Journals ; to 
which, accordingly, this Convention refers for satisfaction in the premises. 
But it would be contrary to fact, were any one to infer that the discipline 
exercised in this Church, or that any proceedings therein, are at all de- 
pendent on the will of the civil or of the ecclesiastical authority of any 
foreign country. 

" The above declaration having been communicated to the House of 
Clerical and Lay Deputies, they returned for answer that they concurred 
therein" 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 83 

of gratitude to the Church of England, and feels for 
her the most thankful affection. Although it be now 
of age, and has the rights and the lawful independence 
of its maturity, it cannot but love the venerable mother 
who was the guide and the support of its infancy, and 
who, when it was first and early called to provide for 
itself, and to buffet with the roughness of the world, 
stood forth as its benefactress and faithful friend, and 
(to borrow a mercantile phrase) advanced to it in its 
poverty, and when it lacked even the advantage of 
credit, the capital upon which its present wealth and 
prosperity have been gained. 

III. The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States is a denomination of Christians ; a society, united 
under certain laws of association, professing to be a 
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ ; an American branch 
of " the true vine ; " a member of the universal body 
of Christ. It endeavors to realize its own definition of 
a Church as contained in the 19th of its Articles of Ke- 
ligion : " The visible Church of Christ is a congrega- 
tion of faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God 
is' preached, and the sacraments be duly ministered ac- 
cording to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that 
of necessity are requisite to the same." 

IV. It is a Church historically at unity with the an- 
cient and the universal Church of Christ ; which has 
never separated itself, and has never been separated by 
others, from this unity ; and which is not liable to the 
charge of sectarism. 

This unity is maintained by the regular connection 
of the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church (in 
which order of ministers its peculiarity as a Church 



34 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

consists), and through them of the Church itself, which 
acknowledges them, with the Church of England, whose 
unity has been unbroken from the primitive and apos- 
tolical age. Be it remembered, we are not arguing for 
the validity of a ministry derived' from bishops (that 
is a totally distinct argument), but simply for the unity 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church with the ancient 
and universal Church, through its derivation from the 
English Church. The argument is as follows : The 
English Church has always been an Episcopal Church, 
and its Bishops for the time being have been acknowl- 
edged by it. Its Bishops for the time being have been 
ordained voluntarily by their predecessors in that office. 
Thus the Church of England for the time being has 
always acknowledged that which preceded it, and has 
been regularly connected with the Church in the age 
immediately previous, with the free consent of both. 
The Church in each succeeding age has derived its ac- 
knowledged ministry (with which its own existence ac- 
cording to its peculiar organization is identified) from 
the Church in the age which immediately preceded it, 
and this, of course, with the actual consent of both par- 
ties. Thus its unity may be traced to the apostolical 
age, and this, too, whether its Bishops have come from 
the early British or Gallican, or from the later Italian 
line.* 

* The gospel was planted in Great Britain in the very first age of the 
Christian Church, and the Church in that country was very soon organ- 
ganized under Bishops continued probably from Gaul in the second cen- 
tury. By the irruption of the Anglo-Saxons in the year 452, the Church 
and Christianity were driven back into the mountain fastnesses where 
they were maintained. About the year 600, the Church and Christianity 
were extended among the Saxons by Augustin, an Italian missionary 3 who 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 85 

Now, the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States has been acknowledged by the English Church, 
and has acknowledged it, and has maintained ecclesias- 
tical unity with it, in receiving from it the succession of 
Bishops now officiating in the American Church, and 
constituting its peculiarity. Hence the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States, with the 
Church of England, is united to the ancient and uni- 
versal Church. Neither has ever at any time separated 
itself, or been separated by others, from the Church in 
the age which preceded it, but has always acknowl- 
edged it, and been acknowledged by it ; and so down 
to the apostolic age. 

Again, we beg the reader to remember that this ar- 
gument is simply to prove the unity of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church with the primitive and universal 
Church of Christ ; and that it is entirely distinct from 
the question whether Bishops are necessary to constitute 
a valid ministry or a regular Church. This latter ques- 
tion we intend to have nothing to do with in these 
pages. The argument we have presented has no sort 
of connection with the controversy on the validity or 
the propriety of the various denominational Churches 
in our country. 

We are aware that there is an objection to the fore- 
going view frequently pressed upon Episcopalians by 
persons not very conversant with the true points of the 
Episcopal controversy, and we propose to meet it. 

The objection is to the following effect : The Na- 

was consecrated to the Episcopal supervision of the converted Saxons. 
The reference above is to these two lines. The reader is referred to the 
various writers on Ecclesiastical History. 



86 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

tional Episcopal Church in England at the Eef ormation 
separated from the Church of Borne, which was at that 
time the universal Church, and that Church finally ex- 
communicated the Protestant Episcopal Church in Eng- 
land, so that it is after all but a sect. 

This objection assumes several fallacies, and admits of 
several answers, some of which we will state succinctly. 

1st. The Church of Borne never was the universal 
Church, for the great body of the Eastern or Asian 
Churches have never acknowledged its authority ; and 
it never itself assumed a supremacy until after the 
eighth century. In leaving the Church of Rome, there- 
fore, the English Church did not leave its connection 
with the universal Church, but simply its connection 
with the Church of Rome. 

2d. It was a maxim of the primitive Church, which 
Protestant Episcopalians acknowledge, that every regu- 
lar Diocesan Church, i. e., every Church regularly or- 
ganized with its Bishops, Clergy, and Laity, is absolutely 
independent of every other. No one national Church has 
authority over another national Church. The Church 
of Borne, therefore, had no authority over the Church 
of England. The only influence which one inde- 
pendent Church can exercise over another is moral 
influence. The one may protest against the errors of 
the other, but has no other right. This is the doctrine 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as shown by its 
name and by its 19th and 20th articles. Each Church 
has the whole management of its own affairs, even in 
the reforming of itself from error. ISTone other has 
any right of interference. Only the whole Catholic 
Church has authority. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 87 

3d. There is no such right in any Church as that 
of excommunication in the absolute sense. The highest 
right of punishment in any Chnrch is that of suspension 
(until penitence allows the return of the offender), and 
then only in the case of individuals. It can never be 
exercised by one Church toward another. This is the 
doctrine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as ex- 
pressed in the Rubric prefatory to the Order for the 
Administration of the Holy Communion and in the 33cb 
article. 

4th. The true state of the case is this. The Church 
of Eome never had any canonical or lawful authority 
over the Church of England. The influence which 
that Church exercised for a period, in the ecclesiastical 
and secular affairs of England, was obtained altogether 
by usurpations which depended upon various circum- 
stances in the history of the times. This is understood 
by the objectors as well as the respondents ; and Prot- 
estant Episcopalians think no more than the objectors 
of the excommunications of the Pope of Pome beyond 
his own diocese, i. e., the city of Pome and a small tract 
around it in Italy. Now the Church of England was 
always a regularly organized Church by itself, and could 
not possibly become a sect or schismatical, unless it 
could separate from itself, which is impossible. In the 
light of the Pef ormation it proceeded to ref orm itself ; 
and as one item in this reformation, it discarded the 
usurpations of the Poman Church ; it refused to allow 
that foreign Church any longer to interfere or have a 
hand in its concerns ; it cut or broke off its connection 
and correspondence with that Church. It never de- 
stroyed itself ; it simply reformed or changed some cir- 



8 8 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

cumstances in its system. It was always regular in its 
doings. It never made one change, or abolished one 
custom, or added one circumstance to its system, irregu- 
larly or contrary to its own laws. As well might the 
Presbyterian or Methodist Church be said to make itself 
schismatical, to form itself into a totally new and dis- 
tinct Church, repudiating and abandoning the old, 
because in its last General Assembly or General Con- 
ference it made some new arrangements, passed some 
new resolutions, enacted some new laws, as the new or 
changing circumstances of the year had demanded, or 
shown necessary or expedient. As an independent 
Church, the Church of England separated, as it had a 
perfect right to do, from its temporary connection with 
another and foreign Church. 

Two or three familiar illustrations will make our 
argument perfectly clear even to the most undisciplined. 
It is well known that for many years the Presbyterian 
Church in the Middle, Southern, and Western States 
has been connected with the Congregational Churches 
of ISTew England by some articles of association for 
their mutual convenience. Now, if the one of these 
independent bodies should see lit to withdraw from 
this compact, to cut its correspondence with the other, 
could it be called schismatical, or could it be said to 
form, by so doing, a new sect ? Again, suppose that 
the Protestant Episcopal Church of the diocese of Con- 
necticut should see fit to withdraw itself from its union 
with the General Convention of the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church in the United States, and to return to the 
same position which it occupied before the year 1789 
(when it first united with the General Convention), 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 89 

could it be said that a new sect had been formed in 
Connecticut ? Would it not be the same Church still ? 
Once more, suppose that two men independent of each 
other, and resident in different places, E and R, should 
become acquainted with each other, and should open a 
correspondence with each other ; and E should ask and 
receive advice from R, and should always be ready to 
entertain hospitably such persons as R should . recom- 
mend to him, and indeed should place so much confi- 
dence in R as to acknowledge the validity of various 
unauthorized proceedings of R in relation to E's busi- 
ness concerns, as if R were his agent, and should pres- 
ently even appoint R his authorized agent for an indefi- 
nite term ; and suppose that after a time E should 
discover that R was not his friend, but had really been 
overreaching him, and involving him in difficulty, and 
thereupon should legally annul the agency intrusted to 
R, and should cut all correspondence with R, and should 
even publish to the world that R was not trustworthy ; 
could it be said that, in so doing, E had violated his 
principles, or that, by so doing, E had lost his personal 
identity, and had become, actually as well as metaphori- 
cally, a new man f These illustrations are all parallel 
to the point at issue. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States, we conclude, by having received its peculiar 
organization by a unity, acknowledged on both sides, 
with the Church of England, is thereby at unity with 
the ancient and universal Church. It is historically 
connected with the Church of the Apostles, and is an 
Apostolic Church, historically continued, unbroken and 
identical in its continuity, to the present day. 



90 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

It may be interesting to some of our readers to 
learn the early history of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in this country. Accordingly, we have inserted 
in the Appendix, No. A, the history of its regular or- 
ganization into the system which at present distin- 
guishes it. The authority there quoted is the well- 
known (although not so generally read) book entitled 
"Memoirs of „ the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States," bj the late Bishop White, of the diocese 
of Pennsylvania. 

Having now given our definition, we think that 
there is nothing in the fact that such a Church exists 
in our land to justify a doubt in the mind of any sin- 
cere Christian. We think, indeed, that there is nothing 
in the definition to deter any sincere Christian from 
looking kindly and favorably upon this Church. 



SECTION II. 

MEMBEES. 



Clergy and laity — always connected in ecclesiastical legislation and divine 
worship — Bishops commonly distinguished from the other clergy by 
their titles of office — all Christians may be members of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. 

The members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
like those of every other denomination, are of two orders, 
clergy and laity. 

The clergy are in three degrees, or orders — Bishops, 
Presbyters or Priests, and Deacons. 

Both clergy and laity have a reciprocal influence 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHUKCH. 91 

upon each other ; and each has peculiar rights. Both 
are equally concerned in the government of the Church ; 
and both are always expected to take an equal part in 
the public worship of God. 

The peculiar rights and duties of the clergy will be 
stated in their proper places. The peculiar rights and 
privileges of the laity will also be illustrated as they 
come up in the progress of the present chapter. 

The Bishops, although a portion or an order of . the 
clergy, are generally distinguished by their title of 
Bishops, for convenience sake ; and by the clergy r , there- 
fore, are generally understood the inferior, orders of 
Presbyters and Deacons. The laity are always referred 
to under their single title, as laity or laymen. Thus, 
for example, the acts of the General Convention, the 
Articles of Eeligion, the Book of Common Prayer, etc., 
are said to be adopted or passed by the " Bishops, Clergy 
and Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States of America." 

If it shall be made to appear, that in the Protestant 
Episcopal Church are all things essential to Christian 
and ecclesiastical unity, and that this Church is peculiar- 
ly fitted to bring together the scattered sheep of Christ's 
ilock, we trust there is no Christian who will not, for 
the love he bears his Master and his brethren, be prompt 
to examine carefully its claims. 



92 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

SECTION III. 

TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church co-extensive with the United States- 
all one Church — its unity represented in the General Convention — 
Dioceses the subdivisions of the whole Church — represented in Dio- 
cesan Conventions — combination, formation, size, and Episcopal charge 
of Dioceses — independence of Dioceses — present number of Dioceses 
and Bishops — Parishes the subdivisions of Dioceses— independence 
and rights of Parishes — parochial officers — the territorial divisions of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church convenient for unity. 

I. The limits of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
are co-extensive with those of the United States and its 
territories. 

The whole Church within these limits is one under 
certain general principles of union and government. 

This unity is maintained in a representative and 
legislative body, known by the name of " the General 
Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States," which body is assembled once in three 
years, in such place as itself appoints from session to 
session. Its custom heretofore, with occasional excep- 
tions, has been to meet in the cities of New York and 
Philadelphia alternately, as central, and the most gen- 
erally convenient places. 

The General Convention is composed of two Houses, 
the House of Bishops and the House of Clerical and Lay 
Deputies ; and the concurrence of both is necessary for 
legislation. The former is composed of all the Bishops 
of this Church, and the latter is composed of a repre- 
sentation of both clergy and laity from all the Dioceses 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 93 

— each Diocese being entitled to send four Presbyters 
and four laymen. In the House of Deputies, moreover 
(if the majority of the clergy and laity representing any 
one Diocese require it), any question may be put to each 
of these orders (i. e., clergy and laity) separately ; and a 
concurrent majority of each of these orders is necessary 
to constitute a vote. So that, in all legislation, there 
must be, when demanded, the concurrence of the three 
orders of Bishops, Clergy, and Laity, each having a veto 
on the other two. 

The powers and action of the General Convention 
will be more fully expressed in section Y. 

II. Within the limits of the whole Church are cer- 
tain territorial subdivisions, independent of each other 
in many respects, yet united as above stated. 

These subdivisions are denominated Dioceses, each 
of which is under the Episcopal supervision of a Bishop 
(or overseer, or superintendent), who is also called a 
Diocesan. 

The ecclesiastical affairs of each Diocese are man- 
aged by a representative and legislative body, entitled 
the Convention of the Diocese — of New York, or "West- 
ern New York, or Maine, or Albany, etc., according to 
its position in the United States. The Bishop of the 
Diocese is chairman or president of the Convention. 

A Diocesan Convention is composed of the clergy 
of the Diocese, and of laymen, more or less, elected by 
each parish from its own members, to represent it. Any 
question may be put (at the request of any member or 
parish represented) to the clergy and laity separately; 
and the concurrence of a majority of each order is ne- 
cessary to a vote. 



94: THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

These are the main principles in the formation and 
conduct of the Diocesan Conventions ; although, as each 
Diocese manages its own affairs by itself, there are va- 
rious modifications of these main principles. These 
Conventions are constituted, in the main, upon the 
model of the General Convention. 

The powers and action of the Diocesan Conventions 
will be further explained in Section V. 

When two or more neighboring Dioceses are each 
too small, or unable to employ or support the services 
of a Bishop, they may be united, or associated tempo- 
rarily, for that purpose.* 

When a single Diocese has become so large as to re- 
quire the services of more than one Bishop, it may be 
divided into two or more independent Dioceses, accord- 
ing to the exigency.f 

When any Diocese, through the demise of its Bishop, 
or other causes, is deprived of Episcopal services, it 
may obtain the services of some Bishop of another Dio- 
cese provisionally 4 

When any Diocese, through the old age or infirmity 
of its Bishop, is in need of increased Episcopal services, 

* As we desire not to burden the body of this chapter with anything 
more than is absolutely important to our purpose — the illustration, in very 
brief statements, of the outline of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States — and as some of our readers would like a view of the sub- 
ject somewhat more complete, we shall cite the authorities for our state- 
ments (as has already been done in a few instances), and occasionally dis- 
cuss a suggested topic, in the notes. Yet we would commend the notes 
and their references to all our readers. The authority for the statement 
above made is Constitution, Article V., Title I., Canon 15. 

f Constitution of Protestant Episcopal Church in United States, Ar- 
ticle V. ; also, Title III., Canon 6. 

X Title I., Canon 15, Section 15. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 95 

it may elect an assistant Bishop, who shall succeed the 
Bishop, on his decease, in the entire charge of the Dio- 
cese. The same rule applies, when a Diocese is too 
large for one Bishop, and does not wish to divide, as in 
the case of the present Diocese of North Carolina.* 

When there are any portions of the United States 
or Territories under no Episcopal supervision, and un- 
able to procure or apply for it, the General Convention 
may appoint Missionary Bishops for such destitute por- 
tions of the country ; and it may also appoint Mission- 
ary Bishops for foreign missionary stations. f 

When a Church in any part of our country, which 
has never been united with the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States so as to be regularly a part 
of it, shall wish to be thus united with the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, it may, upon its application, be re- 
ceived into union with the General Convention, and be 
entitled to a representation in that body, as an indepen- 
dent diocese, even if it be not large enough to elect or 
maintain a Bishop for itself 4 

Furthermore, each Diocese is absolutely independent, 
except in certain particulars, wherein, by its own volun- 
tary union with the others, it transfers its own author- 
ity to the General Convention. The connection or 
union of each Diocese with the others, through the 
General Convention, is perfectly voluntary ; and any 
diocese has a right to withdraw from that connection 
for absolute urgent cause morally justifying the an- 
nulling of its pledge. The Church has never antici- 

* Title I., Canon 15, Section 5. 

f Title I., Canon 15, Sections 1 and 8. 

X Constitution of Protestant Episcopal Church, Article V., Section 1. 



96 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

pated such a case in her legislation, nor had occasion 
to fear it. The only penalty for so doing exists in na- 
ture — the inconveniences attendant npon such a with- 
drawal, and the sense of having departed from the most 
perfect unity of the Church in our country. An example 
of such withdrawal is not, we may add, on record, and, 
from the nature of things, will probably never occur. 

There are at this date (July, A. D. 1878), in this 
Church, forty-eight Dioceses, and ten missionary jurisdic- 
tions or districts ; and there are forty-eight Diocesan 
Bishops, three assistant Bishops, ten domestic missionary 
Bishops, three foreign missionary Bishops, and two Bish- 
ops resigned. 

III. It is hardly necessary to add that, within the limits 
of the Dioceses, the Church is distributed into the smaller 
subdivisions of parishes or congregations or societies. 

These parishes are all at perfect liberty to manage 
their own concerns in any way which they may choose, 
except in those cases where, for their unity and mutual 
convenience, they conform to the general laws which 
they themselves have made, and which they may at any 
time alter, by their delegates in the Diocesan Conven- 
tions, and by their deputies in the General Convention. 
They may elect and settle their own ministers, appro- 
priate their own moneys as they please, hold property 
independently, etc., etc. 

And here it is to be candidly conceded that this ab- 
solute independence of the parishes is not always exer- 
cised wisely by them, and is liable to very great abuse 
and drawbacks. Especially in the providing of clerical 
services, it works badly both for the clergy and the 
parishes. The large number of unemployed clergymen 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 97 

and of vacant parishes shows the bad working of too 
great an independence of parishes in all those religions 
cornmnnions where such independence is the rule. It 
wonld certainly be better for both clergy and parishes, 
if, as in the Methodist system, the parishes and bishops 
should in some way be required to work together. See 
further in Section XIII. 

Each parish, at an annual parish meeting (holden 
generally on Easter Monday, which occurs in March or 
April), elects, for the year, two wardens (the one called 
the senior and the other the junior warden), whose 
business it is to advise and assist the pastor. These 
officers correspond to the deacons of Congregational 
and Presbyterian Churches. At the same meeting, and 
for the same term, it elects also a vestry, of an indefinite 
number, whose business it is to superintend, with the 
wardens, the secular concerns of the parish, and to 
attend to all such matters as the parish leaves in their 
hands after its annual meeting. These officers save the 
necessity of frequent parish meetings, and are analo- 
gous to the trustees or business committees of other 
denominations. 

We will remind the reader, before we pass to an- 
other topic, that the territorial divisions of the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church are similar to those of all exten- 
sive denominations. Parishes are alike in all. The 
limits of Synods and Presbyteries, Consociations, Asso- 
ciations, Conferences, etc., are all correspondent to Dio- 
ceses. So, too, the General Conference, the General 
Association, the General Assembly, etc., do each corre- 
spond to the General Convention, and take in the extent 
of the United States and Territories. 
5 



98 THE COMPKEIIENSIVE CHURCH. 

Tlie arrangement of its territorial divisions fur- 
nishes, therefore, no objection to the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church; while, to say the least, the simplicity 
and extent of these exhibit convenient instrumentalities 
for the formation of a united and universal Church. 



SECTION IV. 
LAWS. 



All written — made by the whole Church — laws of the General Convention 
— laws of the Dioceses — the election of wardens and vestry, and the 
use of the clerical dress, common customs — liberty in everything not 
defined by law — clear laws advantageous for unity. 

The laws of the Protestant Episcopal Church are all 
a lex scripta, written laws, statutes. 

They are all made by the whole Church — Bishops, 
Clergy, and Laity. In the next section this will be fur- 
ther elucidated. 

They are as follows : 

1. The Constitution and Canons of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States, adopted in the 
General Convention ; also the Resolves of the General 
Convention. These are obligatory upon the whole 
Church, in all the dioceses. They are liable to revis- 
ion, change, or repeal, every three years, at each session 
of the General Convention. 

The various orders and rubrics in " The Book of 
Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments 
and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church," etc., re- 
late to sundry occasions of public worship, and are also 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 99 

laws of tlie General Convention, and liable, like its other 
laws, to change or repeal every three years.* 

2. The Constitutions and Canons and Resolves of 
the different Dioceses represented in their Annual Con- 
ventions. These are obligatory only in the Dioceses 
which adopt them. These are liable to repeal or change 
every year, at each session of the Diocesan Convention. 

In the above two classes are all the laws and the only 
laws of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States with penalties. We have customs ; but there is 
no such thing as a lex non scripta, an unwritten law, a 
law of custom, or of arbitrary individual enactment, in 
this Church, for the violation of which a man may be 
tried or punished. 

There are, however, two customs, very common in 
the Church, which it is proper to allude to. The one is 
the election of wardens and vestrymen, by the parishes, 
at their annual meetings. This was a custom adopted 
from the parish customs of England, and is, we believe, 
universally practised. It is not, however, enjoined by 
General Canon, but is assumed as in force in Title L, 
Canon 14, Section 6, and elsewhere. The legal (cor- 
porate) existence of most parishes is, likewise, in almost 
every instance, through these officers. Most of the Dio- 
cesan Conventions have seen fit to provide for their elec- 
tion by special ecclesiastical legislation. The other cus- 

* This Constitution is in nine articles. 

The canons are on various subjects, and are but partially referred to 
in this treatise. All the previously existing canons were revised and re- 
arranged into a new code, in the General Convention of 1832. This col- 
lection is called The Digest ; and the canons are arranged under four 
titles, according to their subjects. 



100 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

torn is the use of the clerical dress — the bands, surplice, 
stole, cassock, and gown. This dress is enjoined by ec- 
clesiastical law, only for the particular time and occasion 
of ordination, as in the Eubrics in the Ordinal. Yet it 
is assumed by one of our canons as a custom generally 
followed. See Title I., Canon 9, Section 3 [3]. It is 
a very general custom, although not, like the former, 
universal. 

In every matter not defined by written law, there 
is liberty ; and no person, clergyman or layman, is liable 
to ecclesiastical trial for any departure from a mere 
usage or custom. There are usages and customs so 
manifestly useful and convenient, that almost all per- 
sons conform to them in society as in the Church ; and 
the violator of such usages punishes himself, in losing 
the respect, just so far, of those who see nothing to be 
admired in mere eccentricity. 

If clear and definite laws, under which every per- 
son may accurately know his rights and privileges, as 
a member of the Church, and be able to defend and 
to continue them, be praiseworthy as well as important 
and useful in a Church ; and if such be especially neces- 
sary in any system proposed to the favorable regards of 
all Christian people, — then may the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church claim the attention, and ask for the kind 
consideration, of the Christians of the United States, as a 
Church fitted to heal their differences, and secure them 
in " the unity of the spirit and in the bond of peace." 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 101 



SECTION V. 

GOVERNMENT. 

Deinocratical — representative. Parish meetings — the original sources of 
government — their various powers — how composed — elect wardens 
and vestry — powers and duties of these officers — an instituted rector 
is chairman— elect lay delegates to the Diocesan Conventions. Dio- 
cesan Conventions — their duties and powers — meet annually — com- 
posed of clergy and laity — rnocle of conducting business— the Bishop 
the Chairman — elect standing committees — duties of these committees 
— elect clerical and lay deputies to the General Convention. General 
Convention — its duties and powers to provide general legislation and 
promote unity — composed of bishops, clergy, and laity — meets trien- 
nially — is in two houses, each has a veto on the other, each equal — 
House of Bishops — how composed — senior Bishop presides — mode of 
conducting business — House of Clerical and Lay Deputies — how com- 
posed — mode of conducting business — the vote by a division of orders 
— by this the clergy and laity have a veto upon each other. Comments 
— analogy between the ecclesiastical institutions of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States and the civil institutions of 
the United States — government of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
very comprehensive — primitive — combines the three elements, the 
Episcopal, the Presbyterial, the Congregational — a just system — 
broad enough to unite all Christians. 

The government of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in the United States is strictly and purely democratical ; 
that is to say, every member of the Church, without any 
exception in any class, has an equal right in the making 
of every one of its laws, and in appointing the method 
and means of their administration. Or to express the 
same idea in another form, there is not a single exercise 
of authority in this Church which may not be directly 
influenced by every member of it. The supreme power 
of governing this Church is the will of the majority of 



102 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

the whole Church, which is composed of bishops, clergy, 
and laity ; so that the bishops cannot govern alone, nor 
the clergy alone, nor the laity alone. But all these 
three, as equally belonging to the Church, and interested 
in it, act together, and thus, in the highest and justest 
style of popular and universal suffrage, the certainly- 
ascertained will of the actual majority of the whole 
Church is the supreme law of the Church. 

The government of this Church is also represent- 
ative ; that is to say, its laws are all made by bodies 
composed of representatives elected directly by the 
whole Church. 

That the government of this Church is democratical 
and representative will now be illustrated more par- 
ticularly. 

I. Parish Meetings. — In these are the unity of the 
Church in the parish. The original powers of govern- 
ment, in the laity, proceed from the parishes, which 
are the primary assemblies of the people. 

1. These have complete control-of their own parochi- 
al or congregational affairs, which control they exercise 
absolutely in the parish meetings. * The persons voting 
at the parish meetings are all communicants, or pew- 
holders, or pew-lessees, or regular occupants of seats, or 
persons of age in any way regularly connected with the 
parish, whether by certificate, as in some States, or in 
other ways. ~No distinction is made in these parish 
meetings between communicants and others.* 

* It is the experience of the Church, that in all cases where both the 
communicants and other members of a parish are to act jointly (as in the 
call and settlement of ministers, etc.), it is best that they consult and 
vote in one body. The communicants, if they are not separated into a 
distinct body, supposed thereby to have interests different from those of 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 103 

2. For the management of such parochial concerns 
as are not conveniently attended to by the parish meet- 
ings, there is a representative body, elected annually by 
the parish at its annual meeting. This body, as has 
been stated already, is composed of two wardens and an 
indefinite number of vestrymen. Most parishes elect 
from four to six or eight vestrymen ; some have more, 
and one very large and wealthy parish in our country 
has between thirty and forty. In most parishes it has 
been the custom to leave all their concerns, even the 
calling and settlement of a rector, with the vestry, 
whom they elect with a careful and particular reference 
to the just fulfilment of their duty. 

In all parish and vestry meetings, we may say in 
passing, the rector has a legal right, it is understood, to 
preside ; and, as chairman, has the privilege of a casting 
vote, in the case of a tie. The right of a minister insti- 
tuted depends upon the special customs or canons of the 
several Dioceses. As a general legal principle now set- 
tled, where special Diocesan canons do not rule otherwise, 
institution confers no special rights. 

3. At the annual meeting each parish elects, from 
its own members, certain lay delegates (more or less, ac- 
cording to the number specified in the Constitution of 
the Diocese) to represent it in the Diocesan Convention. 

the other members of a parish, will always exercise, from their personal 
characters, their various relations to others, and from different circum- 
stances, a controlling and decisive influence in parish meetings. It is 
doubted whether, in Episcopalian parishes, measures are ever carried con- 
trary to the will of a majority of the communicants. To take an illus- 
tration, the writer believes that, among the thousands of cases Avhich 
have occurred, there probably has never been a minister settled over any 
Episcopal parish, by the vote of a parish meeting, in opposition to the 
clearly expressed will of a majority of the communicants. 



104 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

We wish this fact to be specially noted ; for in this is 
the first great step in that representative government by 
which the legislation of the whole Chnrch is controlled. 

II. Diocesan Conventions. — In these are the unity 
of the Chnrch in the Diocese. Each Diocesan Conven- 
tion represents a Diocesan Church, and its laws are obli- 
gatory only upon the Chnrch within the limits of the 
particular Diocese. The unit of the Diocesan Conven- 
tion, which represents the whole Diocesan Church, is 
the individual communicant. 

1. The chief duties of a Diocesan Convention are to 
elect the Bishop of the Diocese ; * to consider the state 
of the several parishes ; to discuss and consult concern- 
ing matters of interest to the Diocese and to the Church 
at large ; to instruct their deputies to the General Con- 
vention in reference to any propositions which may have 
been brought before their notice by the previous Gen- 
eral Convention ; to pass resolutions and canons for the 
regulation of the affairs of the Diocese, especially for the 
discipline and trial of unworthy clergymen,f etc., etc. 

2. A Diocesan Convention meets annually, and is 
composed of the clergy of the Diocese, and of laity 
elected, as just mentioned, by all the parishes. 

On all questions the clergy and laity may, if it be 
required, vote separately, and the concurrence of the 
two orders is then necessary to a vote. 

These general principles are expressed in the Consti- 
tutions of all the Dioceses, although variously modified. 
Thus some Dioceses admit all the clergy to the Conven- 
tion ; others only those engaged in parishes ; others ad- 
mit also clerical teachers and professors in colleges ; 

* Constitution of the Prot. Epis. Church, Art. 4. \ Ibid., Art. 6. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 1Q5 

some require a year's, some a six-months' residence in 
the Diocese, etc. Some allow one lay delegate for each 
parish ; others allow two or three, or more ; some allow 
one for every certain number of families or of commu- 
nicants in a parish, etc. So, in the case of a vote by a 
division of the clerical and lay orders, some Dioceses 
require that one member of the Convention may call 
for it ; others, that the clergyman and delegates of one 
parish may call for it ; others, that five, or more or less, 
members may call for it, etc. So, in the declaring of 
the vote on a division of orders, some Dioceses require 
that the clergy and laity in a majority of the parishes 
shall concur ; others, that a majority of the two orders, 
without any reference to parishes, shall concur, etc. 

The Bishop of the Diocese is Chairman of the Con- 
vention, and as such has a casting vote. This is express- 
ly provided for in the Constitutions of all the Dioceses ; 
since, without such a provision, the Bishop would be 
excluded from the Convention.* 

* The writer would remark that to his mind there appears to be an 
impropriety in leaving this fact to be expressly provided for in the Con- 
stitutions of the several Dioceses. He thinks that, by a special article or 
clause in the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States, every Bishop should be declared, ex officio, Chairman of the 
Convention of the Diocese of which he is overseer. 

Having referred to the freedom of the Diocesan Conventions, in which 
the Bishop has no other power than that just and fitting one of the Chair- 
man, it becomes us to acknowledge that, among all the Dioceses of the 
United States, there are three exceptions to the description we have 
given. In the Diocesan Conventions of Vermont, Albany, and Fond du 
Lac, the Bishop has a veto upon all the proceedings of the body, even 
upon all propositions to alter the Constitution of the Diocese which 
gives him this power of control. 

As the Constitution of these Dioceses has been the subject of much 
and severe animadversion in the Church, it would be unjust not to admit 



106 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

3. By each Annual Convention there is a body chosen, 
called the Standing Committee of the Diocese, composed 
of clergymen, or of clergy and laity, according to the 
peculiar rule of the Diocese. The relation of this body 

that the Conventions of these Dioceses have also a veto upon the Bishop, 
which they may exercise by refusing to enact laws for his sanction, since 
without the action of the Convention no legislation can be accomplished. 

For the sake of illustrating the liberalizing and protective influence 
of our General Constitution, we beg our reader to observe that each Dio- 
cesan Convention is free to act, without any extraneous influence or inter- 
ference, so far as the general legislation of the Church is concerned. 
Clerical and lay deputies are chosen by the Convention to represent it in 
the General Convention ; for it is contrary to the Constitution of the P. 
E. Church in the United States that any Bishop shall have any direct in- 
fluence in the appointment of clerical and lay deputies from his Diocese, 
except so far as his vote, as a member and chairman of the Diocesan 
Convention, goes. Its language is : " The Church in each Diocese shall 
be entitled to a representation of both the clergy and laity, which repre- 
sentation shall consist of one or more deputies, not exceeding four of 
each order, chosen by the Convention of the Diocese.'''' Any Diocese, there- 
fore, whose Convention is not perfectly free to elect its own represent- 
atives to the General Convention, would not be admitted into union with 
the P. E. Church in the United States through the General Convention ; 
and any deputies which it might elect, unless they " represent " without 
qualification " the Church in the Diocese" could not take their seats in 
the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies. 

The view here presented is confirmed by Title I., Canon 3, which de- 
clares that " a candidate for Holy Orders shall not be allowed to accept, 
from any Diocesan Convention, an appointment as a lay deputy to the 
House of Clerical and Lay Deputies of the General Convention." The 
reason assigned for the passage of this canon, it is understood, was 
that the candidate is subject to the Bishop, and therefore, upon the prin- 
ciple just asserted, cannot properly represent the Diocesan Church or Con- 
vention. The same rule is practically applied to Deacons. 

Each Bishop has his proper and lawful influence and representation 
in the General Convention, in his own person, as a member of the House 
of Bishops, and cannot constitutionally control or affect the membership 
of the other House. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 107 

to the Diocesan Convention is somewhat analogous to 
that of the vestry to the parish. It is a sort of sub- 
Convention, authorized to act, at all times, in certain 
specific matters, which the Convention has the primary 
right to control, but cannot manage conveniently.* 

The chief duty of the Standing Committee is to ex- 
amine and recommend postulants for the ministry, for 
candidateship, and for ordination ; and no candidate can 
be ordained except through this recommendation.f 

They are secondarily a council of advice to the 
Bishop, when he desires their advice ; and they may 
also advise him whensoever they themselves see fit to 
do so. 

Where there is no bishop, the Standing Committee 
supplies his place in all things possible. £ 

* Title III., Canon 2. 

•j- Every person ordained into the ministry of this Church must first 
become " a candidate for orders," that is, be placed by the bishop upon 
the list of those in his diocese who are preparing for the sacred ministry. 
Now, in order to become a candidate, the bishop, to whom he intends to 
apply for orders, must receive a certificate from the standing committee 
of the diocese of said bishop, that, " from personal knowledge, or from 
testimonials laid before them, they believe that he is pious, sober, and 
honest ; that," etc. Title I., Canon 2, Section 3 [6]. After a person has 
been admitted a candidate, and is prepared for ordination, there is an- 
other rule to be complied with : " No person shall be ordained deacon or 
priest in this Church, unless he be recommended to the bishop by the 
standing committee of the diocese for which he is to be ordained, which," 
etc. Title I., Canon 6, Section 4 ; and Canon 8, Section 4. In the case 
of persons who have been ministers, licentiates, or students of theology 
among other religious denominations, a similar rule applies. The stand- 
ing committee, being satisfied on these points, may recommend him to 
the bishop, etc. Title I., Canon 2, Section 7. 

% Title HI., Canon 2. It would occupy many pages to exhibit the va- 
rious occasions in which the standing committee are empowered to act — 
in the admission of candidates for orders — in the ordination of deacons 



108 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 

4. By each Diocesan Convention four clerical and 
four lay deputies are elected to represent the Church 
of the Diocese in the General Convention.* 

"We wish this fact to be especially noted, as it is the 
second great step in the representative government of 
the Church. 

III. The General Convention. — In this is the 
unity of the whole Church in the United States and its 
territories. The unit of the General Convention is the 
individual Diocese. 

The object of the General Convention is to provide 
legislation for the whole Church ; to define a uniform 
system of ecclesiastical government ; and to promote, as 
far as possible, the external unity of the whole Church 
in all those matters, the control of which is not essen- 
tial to the acknowledged independence of the various 
Dioceses. It is the body through which the several Dio- 
ceses are united with each other ; each Diocese submit- 
ting itself, in all matters of general legislation, to the 
will of the majority of the Dioceses — through which all 
are united (as in the case of individuals united with 

and of presbyters — in the consecration and resignation of bishops — in 
cases of discipline, etc., etc. It will be enough for the purposes of illus- 
tration to say that, out of three hundred and forty-five canons or sec- 
tions of canons on all subjects, one hundred and four refer, in some par- 
ticulars, to the standing committees of the dioceses. The important in- 
fluence of this body may be easily surmised by a comparison of these 
canons with their subjects. In every one of these canons there is an or- 
der for the action of the standing committee, either as an independent 
body representing the Diocesan Convention, or else, in the case of a dio- 
cese without a bishop, as representing the whole ecclesiastical^ authority 
of the diocese. To understand the powers of a Diocesan Convention, the 
various agencies of the standing committee must be considered. 
* Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Art. 2. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 109 

each other in the Church) upon the grand principles of 
mutual compromise and general conformity, in all mat- 
ters which are not felt by each to be essential to their 
common independence, and which, of course, will be 
most jealously guarded by each separately, as well as by 
all conjointly. Thus, while the absolute unity of all 
is secured, the absolute independence of each is main- 
tained inviolate ; and this, indeed, perpetually, by the 
very nature of the association. 

In the General Convention all the bishops, all the 
clergy, and all the laity of the whole Church in the 
United States, are represented. 

Each of these three orders or classes has an absolute 
veto or negative in the passage of all the acts of the 
body ; so that a concurrence of the three is necessary to 
all legislation. 

The General Convention meets once in three years, 
at such place as itself determines. 

A majority of the dioceses must be represented be- 
fore it can proceed to business ; but the representation 
from two dioceses may adjourn.* 

Freedom of debate is always allowed. 

Special meetings may be called, under certain 
rules.f 

The General Convention is in two Houses — the 

* Constitution of Protestant Episcopal Church, Art. 1. There are 
now forty-eight dioceses at unity through (or, as it is more commonly 
expressed, in connection -with) the General Convention. Twenty-five 
must, therefore, be represented before the General Convention can pro- 
ceed to business. The next General Convention will meet in the city of 
New York, on the first Wednesday in October, 1880, thenceforward tri- 
ennially. 

f Constitution, Art. 1, Title III., Canon 1, Section 1. 



HO THE COMPREHENSIVE CHUECH. 

House of Bishops, and the House of Clerical and Lay 
Deputies. 

Each House may originate and propose acts to the 
other ; and each has a negative upon the acts of the 
other ; so that the concurrence of both Houses . is ne- 
cessary to all legislation. The legislative powers of 
each are on an exact equality, except in one particular 
to be alluded to presently, in which the House of Cler- 
ical and Lay Deputies has an unjust advantage over the 
House of Bishops. 

Each House elects its own President and Secretary ; 
and the two Houses communicate with each other by 
their secretaries, or by occasional committees. 

In both Houses, the ordinary rules of parliamentary 
bodies prevail. Joint committees and committees of 
conference are frequently, and whenever necessary, ap- 
pointed. 

The two Houses unite with each other in public wor- 
ship, at the opening of the session (when the Holy Com- 
munion is administered), and at the close of the session 
(when the pastoral letter of the Bishops — a letter of 
solemn advice, addressed to all the Episcopal parishes 
in the United States — is read), and during every day of 
the session. 

1. The House of Bishops. — This body is composed 
of all the bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in the United States,'* excepting such as shall have re- 
signed their Episcopal charge, f 

By a resolution adopted by it in 1804, it was made 
" a standing rule of this House, that the senior bishop 

* Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Art. 3. 
f Title I., Canon 15, Section 16. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHUKCH. m 

present at the opening of any Convention shall preside," 
seniority being reckoned, not from the years of hnman 
life, bnt from the date of consecration to the office of a 
bishop. From that time until the Convention of 1835, 
inclusively, Bishop "White, late of Pennsylvania, pre- 
sided, having never been absent from a single session. 
The present Senior Bishop is the Rt. Rev. Benjamin 
Bosworth Smith, D. D., of the Diocese of Kentucky. 
The secretary is chosen from session to session. 

In case the House of Bishops shall fail to signify its 
concurrence or non-concurrence (the latter in writing 
with the reasons therefor) with any act pixyposed to it 
by the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, within 
three days thereafter, the proposed act will become a 
law. No such unfair provision exists in regard to any 
measure originating with the House of Bishops, and 
proposed by them to the other House. 

The mode of conducting the business of this body is 
perfectly simple, and all the important particulars are 
stated in the general remarks above made upon both 
Houses.* 

2. The House of Clerical and Lay Deputies. — This 
body is composed, as has been mentioned, of Clerical 
and Lay Deputies, four of each order being elected by 
each Diocesan Convention to represent it in the same.f 

The President and Secretary of this body are chosen 
from session to session. 

Any question may (if the clerical and lay deputies 
of any one diocese require it) be put to each order 
(clergy and laity) separately. In case of such a division 

* Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Art. 3. 
f Ibid., Art. 2. 



112 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHTJUCH. 

of the House, the mode of taking the vote provided by 
the Constitution is as follows : Each order votes by 
dioceses, the majority of each order in each diocese rep- 
resented being counted as one vote in that order. To 
constitute a concurrence of both orders there must be, 
for the clergy, a majority of the dioceses actually repre- 
sented by them, and for the laity, a majority of the 
dioceses actually represented by them in the present 
Convention.* 

To illustrate the full power of this negative in the 
House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, we will state a 
case. There are now forty-eight dioceses in connec- 
tion through the General Convention ; and, according 
to the first article of the Constitution already quoted, a 
majority, that is, at least twenty-five of these dioceses, 
must be represented (each, according to the second arti- 
cle of the Constitution, by at least one of the clerical or 
one of the lay deputies elected by its Convention), before 
the General Convention can proceed to business. Sup- 
pose now it should so happen that, in some meeting of 
the General Convention, all the clerical deputies from the 
forty-eight dioceses, that is, one hundred and ninety-two 
clerical deputies, should be present, and only three lay 
deputies from three different dioceses should be present ; 
then the majority of these three, i. e., two lay deputies, 
would, in the event of a vote by the division of orders, 
have an absolute veto upon all the legislation of the 
General Convention. So it would be if the case were 
inverted, and only three or even two clerical deputies 
were present. So it would be if only one clergyman, or 
one layman, being the only representative from one dio- 

* Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Art. 2. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 113 

cese, should represent his order in the General Conven- 
tion ; he might require the division of orders and veto 
all the doings of the Convention. Such a disproportion 
in the representation as here supposed is of course only 
supposable, and not at all likely to occur ; vre suppose 
the case, not as probable or morally possible, but only 
to illustrate a fundamental principle in the Constitu- 
tion of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States. 

Thus the clergy and laity, as such, have a negative 
upon each other, not accidental, but constitutionally pro- 
vided. And since the House of Bishops and the House 
of Clerical and Lay Deputies must concur in all legis- 
lation, each order in the House of Clerical and Lay Dep- 
uties has actually a veto upon all the proceedings of the 
General Convention. 

Thus the bishops, the clergy,* and the laity, have 
each a veto power ; and the concurrence of the three, 
as separate orders, is necessary to all legislation in this 
tody. 

The observations here presented, in connection with 

* It is possible that- to some minds there may seem to be no propriety 
in recognizing the bishops and clergy as separate orders, having a recip- 
rocal check upon each other. But he must be a careless reader in the 
history of past ages, and a poor philosopher, and very much unacquainted 
with the facts in the case, who does not know that (so far as the different 
orders in the Church can have separate interests) there is a wider dis- 
tinction between the bishops and the clergy than between the bishops 
and the laity. In the event of undue authority in the hands of bishops, 
the clergy are always the first to feel it, and the most exposed to suffer 
by it. In the great majority of cases (and we appeal to the history of 
the past, and the reason of things, and to present facts, for proof), the 
laity will be willing to give power to bishops when the clergy will strive 
to withhold it. 



114 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

our previous statement of things common to both 
Houses, will suffice for the present topic. 

In the next General Convention, if all the dioceses 
and domestic missionary districts shall be fully repre- 
sented, there will be sixty members in the House of 
Bishops, and one hundred and ninety-two clergymen 
and one hundred and ninety-two laymen with seats and 
votes, in addition to both clerical and lay delegates from 
the missionary jurisdictions having seats but not votes, 
in the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies. 

IV. The view which has been presented to the 
reader suggests one or two comments. 

It will be perceived that there is a very manifest 
and beautiful analogy between the ecclesiastical institu- 
tions of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United 
States and the civil institutions of the United States. 

In both the power of government resides primarily 
in the whole people, and not in one class or order only. 

In both the forms of government are representative ; 
in the Church, however, there are no limitations in the 
application of the principle of universal suffrage. 

The parish meetings and the town or district elec- 
tions are analogous. 

The parish vestries and the selectmen or common 
councils of the towns or cities are analogous. 

The union of parishes into dioceses and the union 
of towns or counties into States are analogous. 

The independence of the several dioceses and the 
independence of the several States are analogous. 

The union of the several dioceses into one General 
Convention and the union of the several States into one 
General Government are analogous. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 115 

Tlie Diocesan Conventions with their presidents and 
secretaries, and the State Legislatures with their speak- 
ers and clerks or secretaries, are analogous. 

The representation in the Diocesan Conventions, 
and the representation in the State Legislatures, from 
the people directly, are analogous. 

The standing committees, and the committees ap- 
pointed by the Diocesan Conventions for the discipline 
and trial of the clergy, etc., in the dioceses, and the 
Probate and County Courts and Governor's Councils of 
the States, are, in many particulars, analogous. 

The General Convention of the United Dioceses 
and the General Congress of the United States are 
analogous; the House of Bishops in the former cor- 
responding to the Senate in the latter, and the 
House of Clerical and Lay Deputies in the former 
corresponding to the House of Representatives in the 
latter. 

So there is an analogy in the course and mode of 
representation between the Protestant Episcopal Church 
and the United States ; the Diocesan Conventions and 
the State Legislatures being chosen directly by the peo- 
ple, and the Deputies to the General Convention being 
chosen by the Diocesan Conventions, as the Senators to 
the General Congress are chosen by the State Legis- 
latures. The analogy is even more perfect than it 
seems to be. It is true, the members of the lower 
House in the General Convention are elected by the 
Diocesan Conventions, as the members of the upper 
House in the General Congress are by the State Legis- 
latures. But the clerical and lay deputies are elected 
anew for every General Convention, and not for several 



116 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHUKCH. 

consecutive sessions as the United States Senators are ; 
so that they are, in fact (although elected by the Dio- 
cesan Conventions, which, it must be remembered, are 
themselves new every year), more popular and repre- 
sentative of the peculiar and changing views and inter- 
ests of the passing and present day than are the United 
States Senators, and actually correspond in this respect 
(as holding their seats for a single session, and being 
elected under the peculiar circumstances and changing 
interests of the passing day) to the United States Rep- 
resentatives. Then the bishops, although members of 
the upper House for life, are not hereditary (like most 
members of the upper House in the British Parliament), 
but elective, like our United States Senators, being 
elected each one by the convention of the diocese to. 
which he belongs, subject to the consent of the major- 
ity of all the standing committees or dioceses, and of all 
the bishops. The bishops, too, are generally elected 
when in mature and experienced and somewhat ad- 
vanced life ; so that, actually, the bishop, as a member of 
the upper House in the General Convention, will not 
occupy his seat through many sessions more than the 
three several Congresses to which each United States 
Senator is elected. Hence members of the House of 
Bishops as elected by the Diocesan Conventions, and 
holding their seats for a few consecutive sessions, do 
actually, and almost exactly, correspond to the members 
of the Senate in the American Congress. 

Furthermore, there is an analogy in the mode of con- 
ducting business between the legislative bodies of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church and those of the United 
States, especially in the necessity of a concurrence of 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 117 

the two Houses for all legislation. The General Con- 
vention and the General Congress are alike. 

The reader may prove the foregoing analogies for 
himself. More might be added if it seemed necessary. 

It is to be observed, however, that the ecclesiastical 
institutions of the Protestant Episcopal Church are very 
much more simple than the civil institutions of the 
United States — the popular representation being more 
direct, and the popular suffrage universal. This asser- 
tion will be proved by noticing two or three prominent 
points of diversity between the two systems. 

Thus, in the Protestant Episcopal Church, there is 
no such body in the Diocesan Conventions as will cor- 
respond to the Senate in the State Legislatures. In the 
Diocesan Conventions there is but one body, like the 
House of Kepresentatives of the State Legislatures. In 
this one body there is free discussion and free action, 
without any of the restraining influences of an upper 
House. The Diocesan Conventions are the simple Rep- 
resentative Conventions of the Diocesan Churches. 

Again, in the Protestant Episcopal Church there is 
no officer analogous to the Governor of a State, or the 
President of the United States ; for the bishop of a 
diocese is a very limited executive, and corresponds 
rather to the chairman of a State Legislature, endowed 
with certain larger and standing powers. The Church, 
both diocesan and general, provides its executive as oc- 
casion requires ; it is its own executive ; it does not in- 
trust its executive powers, by any system, away from 
itself. 

Moreover, in the Protestant Episcopal Church there 
is nothing analogous to the Supreme Court of the United 



118 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

States ; for each diocese is, in respect of all judiciary 
concerns, independent in itself. 

Not to tarry longer upon the comparison, we pass to 
another comment. 

It will be perceived, if any one will look carefully 
into the system of ecclesiastical government which has 
been developed, that there is in it a remarkable compre- 
hensiveness ; that the elements of the three great sys- 
tems, the Episcopal, the Presbyterial, the Congrega- 
tional, are admirably and harmoniously combined ; that 
these are so combined that the entire strength of each 
is preserved.* 

* In reading over the last sentence, the writer was reminded of an 
assertion very much like it, applied by the Rev. George Waddington to 
the Primitive Church. In turning to the " Church History " of that au- 
thor, and reading the second section of his second chapter, entitled 
" Church Government," the writer was struck with the minute corre- 
spondence of the system exhibited in this section of our little book, with 
the system of the Primitive Church as there delineated. The passage is 
thrown into the Appendix, No. B, where the reader may mark the re- 
semblance. 

As there are some who always associate with the name of an Epis- 
copal Church the idea of an absolute or despotic government of bishops, 
we take this occasion to say, for their benefit, what all Episcopalians un- 
derstand, that there is a wide distinction between the Episcopal office and 
Episcopal government; and that each may exist, and does exist, without 
the other. Thus, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions, and the Executive Committee of the American Home Mission- 
ary Society, do each exercise over all their missionaries and missionary 
stations an Episcopal (supervisory) government without any Episcopal 
office. In the West, of late years, the Presbyterians and Congregational- 
ists, yielding to the great law of nature, that " God gives us bishops," 
that there must be a personal head to do any business successfully, have 
appointed for each of certain missionary districts a general agent and 
overseer, without the name of bishop, who supervises his district, making 
his regular visitations like any bishop, and in correspondence with the 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 119 

Thus the Methodist will find in this Church the 
Episcopal and Clerical influence which are fundamental 
in his system ; the Congregationalist will find the abso- 
lute and controlling Laical influence which are funda- 
mental in his system ; and the Presbyterian will find 
that united agency of the Clergy and Laity which he 
looks for — not, however, variable and unequal, as must 
continually be the case where the two orders always 
vote in common, without any division, but just, uni- 
form, and constitutionally guarded and perpetuated. 

We wish our readers to understand the completeness 

central Missionary Boards at the East, nominating missionaries, fixing 
their salaries, opening stations, determining upon the amount to be paid 
by the people, making appointments, reporting as to work of mission- 
aries, recommending removals, changes, residences, fields of work, etc., 
etc. The actual Episcopal government of each of these agents (irrespon- 
sible to any real written law of their churches) is far greater, and may be 
used far more oppressively and with more partiality, as well as efficiently 
and paternally, than that of any one of the bishops of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, or indeed than that of the whole House of Bishops put 
together. Thus, in the Methodist Episcopal Church, there are both the 
Episcopal office and aD almost absolute Episcopal government. Thus, in 
the Moravian Episcopal Church, there is an Episcopal office, with almost 
no Episcopal government. And thus, in the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
there is the Episcopal office, while the government of the Church is an 
equal and mutually-balanced combination of Episcopal, Clerical, and 
Laical power. 

The office of a bishop, in the estimation of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church (as may be clearly shown by a collation of its ordinals), is simply 
this : to confirm or lay hands on the heads of those who renew their bap- 
tismal confession, and are thus regularly admitted to the Holy Com- 
munion in this Church ; to ordain ministers for the Church ; and to exert 
a supervisory watchfulness, and a constant and laborious moral influence, 
for the peace and holiness and edification of the flock of Christ over 
which he is appointed a chief pastor ; and all this according to law. The 
government (i. e., control having the force of law and compelling obedi- 



120 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

and simplicity and the largeness of the system which has 
been unfolded. It may seem a careless assertion, still we 
assert truly,, although paradoxically, that the Protestant 
Episcopal Church is in a certain sense governed abso- 
lutely by the bishops, yet it is in the same sense gov- 
erned absolutely by the clergy as a different order ; nay, 
it is in the same sense governed absolutely by the laity, 
as separate from both. Its government is such that it 
associates the common wisdom, while it secures the in- 
dependent rights, of these three orders in the Church. 

With a further remark upon the justice and repub- 
licanism (and these terms are synonymous) of this sys- 
tem, we will close the section. The laity, as an order, 
and as individuals, are a part of the Church (yet not the 
whole Church), and are peculiarly interested in all its 
concerns. It would be unjust and anti-republican to 
exclude them from their full share in the administration 
of all its affairs. So it may be said, and with equal truth 
and force, of the clergy, and of the bishops, both as sep- 

ence by penalties) of a bishop, in the estimation of the same Church, is 
granted by the authority of the whole Church, and is, more or less, as 
the whole Church defines it. " It is to be remembered," writes one who 
has looked deeply into the history and theory of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, " that there are many rights and functions held and exercised 
by bishops, not necessarily included in a strict interpretation of their 
divine commission, but conferred by the Church. Besides, it is a fixed 
and settled thing in the organization of our Church, that even in the exer- 
cise of their peculiar and appropriate spiritual functions, the bishops are 
to act within certain limits, and in certain prescribed modes Hence a 
portion of our constitutional and canon law. The same principle is 
recognized in the English Church. It was in the Primitive Church. 
There is and always has been a distinction between the regular and 
canonical and the irregular and uncanonical exercise of the spiritual and 
divinely-conferred authority of the bishops, as well as of presbyters and 
deacons." — Rev. Dr. Hawks, in New York Review, October, 1837, p. 480. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 121 

arate orders and as individuals. Now, is there not true 
justice and true republicanism in that system of ecclesi- 
astical government here exhibited, which allows to every 
individual in the Church a vote in all its affairs ; which 
secures, conclusively and inalienably, to every order in 
the Church, the right and the power of self -protection ; 
and all whose laws, without any exception, are and must 
be the harmonious result of the unconstrained suffrages 
of the whole Church? Indeed, is not every system 
which does not rest upon these strong principles essen- 
tially opposed to justice and to republicanism ? 

Is not the system of government of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church so firm and so broad, that all the 
Christian people in our land may find the essential 
principles of their various plans of Church government 
embodied and beautifully combined in it, and may stand 
upon it and be brethren ? 



SECTION VI. 

OEDINATION AND DUTIES OF MINISTERS. 

Three orders or degrees of ministers — Deacons the lowest — Presbyters 
next — Bishops the highest — rules concerning ordination — Candidates 
for orders — testimonials of Standing Committee — preparatory steps 
of a Deacon — of a Presbyter — of a Bishop — all promise conformity 
to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church — duties of ministers — explained in the ordinals — as commonly 
understood — scope and variety of clerical influence — the judgment of 
all denominations here approved. 

The ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
as has been mentioned, is in three orders or degrees — 
6 



122 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHUECH. 

Bishops, Presbyters or Priests, and Deacons.* The 
same orders, and no others, exist in the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church in Great Britain. But there, owing to 
the secular arrangements of the Church, and its relation 
to certain property held in various ways, there are va- 
rious offices and titles held by members of these three 
orders. Thus, two of their Bishops are called Archbish- 
ops, and the rest of their Bishops are called Suffragans ; 
and among their Presbyters there are Archdeacons, 
Deans, Prebendaries, etc. These distinctions in the same 
orders do not exist in the United States. In respect to 
their ecclesiastical rights and titles, all Bishops here are 
equal, all Presbyters are equal, and all Deacons are equal. 

I. No person may be ordained a Presbyter until 
after he has been a Deacon, nor a Bishop until after he 
has passed through both of the inferior degrees. No 
person may be ordained a Deacon under twenty-one 
years of age, nor a Priest under twenty-four, nor a 
Bishop under thirty, f 

Before any one can be ordained at all, he must be re- 
ceived as a " Candidate for Orders," that is, he must 
state his wish and intention to become a minister to the 
Bishop of the Diocese in which he resides, and be regis- 
tered by the Bishop upon the list of approved candi- 
dates. To be thus registered, he must present to the 
Bishop certain testimonials of character and fitness, and 
also a recommendation from the Standing Committee 
of the Diocese.J 

* Preface to the Ordinal, Common Prayer Book. Digest, Title I., 
Canon 1. 

f Title I., Canon 6, Section 7; Canon 8, Section 7 ; Canon 15, Section 4. 
% For a fuller detail of these requisites see Title I., Canon 2, Section 3. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 123 

After this, when a candidate lias finished his pri- 
mary studies and applies for ordination, first as a Dea- 
con, and then as a Presbyter, he must pass through 
certain literary and theological examinations.* He must 
also present from the Standing Committee certain other 
testimonials to his moral and religious character and 
fitness for the ministry, before he can be ordained. f 

Candidates for Orders and Deacons are both sub- 
ject to the particular care and direction of the 
Bishop. :f 

Before a person can be ordained a Bishop, he must 
produce to the House of Bishops testimonials of his 
proper character and of his election. These testimonials 
must be signed by the members of the Convention 
which elects him, and also by a majority of the clerical 
and lay Deputies in the General Convention. Or, if the 
election occur more than six months previous to the 
meeting of the General Convention, they must be signed 
by the members of the Convention which elects him, 
and approved by the Standing Committees of the major 
number of the Dioceses in connection with the General 
Convention. In both cases the majority of the Bishops 
must approve the testimonials, and consent to his con- 
secration, before he can be ordained a Bishop. § 

!No person may be ordained a Deacon or a Pres- 
byter until he has, in a book kept by the Bishop who 
ordains him, subscribed the following declaration : "I 
do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testament to be the word of God, and to contain all 
things necessary to salvation ; and I do solemnly engage 

* Title L, Canon 4. f Ibid., Canon 6, Sections 1 and 8. 

% Ibid., Canons 3 and 7. § Ibid., Canon 15. 



124 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

to conform to the doctrines and worship of the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church in the United States." * 

Every person ordained a Bishop, publicly before the 
Church at the time of his ordination, repeats and as- 
sumes the following promise to the same effect : " In 
the name of God, Amen. I, JV, chosen Bishop of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in iT, do promise con- 
formity and obedience to the doctrine, discipline, and 
worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States of America. So help me God, through 
Jesus Christ." f 

II. The duties of the three orders are defined in 
the questions and answers and exhortations in the three 
ordination services respectively. They may be seen at 
length in the Common Prayer Book. 

They are, substantially, to fulfil the various duties 
of the Gospel ministry, as these are commonly under- 
stood ; and to conform to the laws of the Church, as they 
exist from time to time. 

The peculiar duties of the Bishop, as may be seen in 
the Ordinal referred to, are : To ordain ministers in 
obedience to the laws of the Church ; to confirm or lay 
hands upon those who have been baptized and come to 
years of discretion ; to see that the lawful discipline of 
the Church is duly administered; and to exercise all 
possible moral influence for the glory of God and the 
unity and edification of the Church. 

If the reader will examine carefully the several ordi- 
nation services in the Common Prayer Book, and also 
the several Canons which relate, in divers particulars, 

* Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Art. 1. 
\ See Ordinal, Common Prayer Book. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 125 

to the ministry, lie will perceive that there is in the 
Protestant Episcopal Church a very remarkable scope 
and variety of clerical influence and effort provided 
for. 

It is true that these have never yet been but partially 
developed or improved, because the hitherto straitened 
circumstances of the Church have not warranted nor in- 
deed called for any new amplications of clerical influ- 
ence. But it is still true that almost all the peculiar 
varieties and modes of clerical influence and effort now 
in operation among the several denominations in our 
country are actually provided for, and in many cases 
employed, in the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

Thus the itinerant or unsettled missionary clergy of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church are identical nearly 
with the itinerant clergy of the Methodist Church. 
Thus the Missionary and Diocesan Bishops of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church, with less powers and in a 
definite district, fulfil the same Episcopal or super- 
visory care of the Churches which the Bishops of the 
Methodist Church fulfil, and which the general agents 
of the Presbyterian and Congregational missionary dis- 
tricts in the West fulfil. The State or County mis- 
sionaries of the Protestant Episcopal Church, indeed 
the Bishops themselves, are correspondent to the Evan- 
gelists of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches. 
The parochial or settled clergy of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church correspond to the same class in all other 
Churches. Then, in the office of Deacon in the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church there is a provision (which has 
never yet been fully improved) for an order correspond- 
ing to the local clergy of the Methodist Church ; and 



126 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

also for an order intermediate between the local clergy 
of the Methodist Church and the Deacons of the Pres- 
byterian and Congregational Churches — a less educated 
and local, yet an ordained ministry, assistant to the reg- 
ularly settled parochial clergy. 

There are sundry other modifications of clerical in- 
fluence provided for by the system of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. Not to be tedious, we assert (what 
may be proved and what the reader may prove for him- 
self) that there is hardly a single mode or form of the 
ministry existing in the many bodies of professing 
Christians among us, which either is not actually, or 
may not be easily, evolved out of the existing system of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

In the arrangements of this Church on the subject 
of the clergy, or rather of ministerial agencies, there is 
a scheme of unity provided, and respectfully and affec- 
tionately offered to the several denominations of Chris- 
tians in our country, upon which all may be united 
without the sacrifice of any important principles. 



SECTION VII. 

EIGHTS OF THE BISHOPS AND CLEEGY. 

Each order has a separate right in legislation — a right to fulfil its duty 
without restraint — ordinary rights — those of the clergy well under- 
stood — those of the Bishops misunderstood — proper to explain — their 
rights all defined by the laws of the Church — no arbitrary official 
power of Bishops — they cannot be oppressive — for several reasons — 
from the organization of the Church — they are subjects of discipline 
— under public opinion — depend on the clergy and laity — are elected 
by the Diocesan Conventions — subject to their control — the Bishops 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 127 

are good and trustworthy men — elected for this reason — we appeal to 
their character — are thankful for them — the system of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church a medium between extremes — invites to unity. 

Each of these orders has a separate and an equal 
right, as has been illustrated, with the laity, in the legis- 
lation of the Church. 

Each of these orders has the right to fulfil its canon- 
ical and lawful duties, as has been represented, without 
restraint. 

In all matters not connected with their peculiar 
ministerial duties and official character, they have the 
various rights of laymen. 

The rights of the clergy are generally well enough 
understood. But it will be well to consider more mi- 
nutely the rights of the Bishops, as on this subject there 
is a great deal of misapprehension. 

If any one will take the trouble to look over the Con- 
stitution and Canons of the General Conventions and 
the Ordinals of the Church, and observe also the actual 
relation of our Bishops to the Diocesan Conventions, he 
will be ready at once to inquire, in almost the very 
words of St. Jerome to Evagrius or Evangelus : " What 
does the Bishop do, ordinatione excepta, ordination 
excepted, which the Presbyter may not do ? " 

The Bishop has canonically a general right of su- 
pervision over the spiritual and other interests of his 
Diocese ; and he has, moreover, a position of extraor- 
dinary moral influence.* But he has not a single 
right beyond, or above, or aside from the laws of the 
Church. 

* The writer cannot soon forget the impression made on his mind, 
when once in his youth he heard the venerable Bishop Brownell, of Con- 



128 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

It is evident, from what has been shown, that the 
Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church have not 
now any too much power, nor indeed any power which 
ought to "be restrained, or which may not be further 
restrained, if the whole Church think best, by law. 

But as many minds are very apprehensive that the 
Bishops of this Church do have, or at least may have, 
an undue and arbitrary and oppressive power, we will 
state a few reasons to show that such an apprehension 
is altogether unwarrantable. 

1. The organization of the Church, both general and 
diocesan, as it has been developed, is such that both the 
clergy and the laity have the most unrestricted means 
of self-protection. 

2. The Bishops are as much the subjects of ecclesi- 
astical discipline as the clergy or the laity ; and the least 
assumption, on the part of any one of them, of unlawful 
or uncanonical power, being a violation of his " promise 
of conformity to the doctrine and discipline (i. e., laws) 
and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States," would make him liable to presentment 
and trial. Furthermore, he would be so liable in his 
own Diocese, the very place where such assumption 
would be first felt and resisted. 

3. The Bishops, be their own dispositions ever so 
severe, are, equally with all others, under the influence 
and control of public opinion — that highest of all tribu- 
nals in our republican country. Their self-love and self- 
respect, if nothing more, should prevent Episcopal usur- 

necticut, in referring to the fact above alluded to, apply with the deepest 
emotion to himself that solemn and affecting maxim of our Lord : " To 
whom much is given, from him shall much be required." 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 129 

pations, even if they were not, as they are, from other 
causes impossible. 

4. The Bishops depend, ordinarily, for their support 
even, and for all their official prerogatives, upon the 
free action of the clergy and laity. They know very 
well that any attempt or effort to increase their prerog- 
atives, without an occasion satisfactory to the whole 
Church, would be the very last way to accomplish such 
an object. 

5. The Bishops are always elected (according to the 
laws of the Protestant Episcopal Church) by the Dio- 
cesan Conventions. The clergy and laity would not 
surely elect over themselves either monsters or tyrants. 
In this fact is the fullest security. If it should so hap- 
pen that any Bishop elected and consecrated to a Di- 
ocese should be disposed to be arbitrary (yet by no overt 
breach of the law subjecting him to discipline), one 
would think that his Diocese would learn some careful- 
ness and prudence for the election of his successor. But 
the supposition is improbable ; for such a Bishop would 
find his hands tied continually, and his influence would 
be destroyed, and he would be compelled to one of the 
two alternatives — reformation or resignation. Or, in 
any event, the Church could soon make laws which 
should reach and control him. 

6. Apart from these various considerations, in all of 
which it has been implied that the Bishops may be dis- 
posed to usurpation, there is another security which 
renders all these considerations actually unnecessary, 
and it is — the character of the Bishops. "Who are the 
Bishops ? They are men from the ranks, elected by the 
free suffrages of their brethren, both clerical and lay — 



130 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

elected because of their worth, their fitness for the office 
— tried men, who would suffer the loss of all things 
rather than take one privilege unrighteously — faithful 
men, who have, in the laborious duties of the inferior 
ministry, proved themselves " worthy of a good degree " 
— men who have the confidence and affection of their 
brethren, whom their brethren exalt to be the first be- 
cause they are supposed to be the best in the Church — 
men who will " be to the flock of Christ shepherds, not 
wolves, who will feed them and devour them not ; who 
will hold up the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, 
bring again the outcast, seek the lost ; who will be so 
merciful, that they be not too remiss — so minister disci- 
pline, that they forget not mercy ; that when the Chief 
Shepherd shall appear, they may receive the never-fad- 
ing crown of glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord." * 

We are willing to appeal to the character of the liv- 
ing Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church as well 
as of the departed, as to one — most powerful — testimony 
to the well-working of our ecclesiastical institutions. 
Let the reader look through the list of the House of 
Bishops, - from the meek and venerable senior, who, like 
" Paul the aged," even now fulfils laboriously and pa- 
tiently his " care of all the Churches," down to its junior 
member, who, like Timothy of Ephesus, was devoted to 
the work of the Lord Christ " from a child ; " and then 
let him say if there are in the country an equal number 
of other men, whom, in respect of the various qualifica- 
tions for the Episcopal office, he would desire to see in 
their places. We love our Bishops ; we thank God for 
such overseers ; we thank Him that, whatever may be 

* Service for the Consecration of Bishops, Common Prayer Book. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 131 

tlie imperfections of our clergy or of our laity, we may 
point to them and say : " Hold such in reputation." 

In conclusion, we ask : Is there anything in the fact 
of having Bishops or overseers, such as those in the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, whose powers are all exer- 
cised in " conformity and obedience to the doctrine, dis- 
cipline, and worship" appointed by the Church, and 
who are directly responsible to the Church for all their 
conduct, and who, likewise, from the very circumstances 
of their appointment to office, must be good and faith- 
ful men — is there anything, we repeat, to deter Chris- 
tians from a union with this Church % Indeed, is there 
not, in all those arrangements which refer to the Bishops 
and clergy, much to recommend the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church as the "happy medium" between all ex- 
tremes, and the best system for promoting the desirable 
result of Christian and ecclesiastical unity ? 



SECTION VIII. 

ADMISSION TO THE SACRAMENTS. 

Principles of Church membership important — two sacraments — admission 
to Baptism — requisites — belief in the Scriptures and earnest self- 
consecration to the service of Christ — no requisites beyond the spirit- 
ual character of a Christian — admission to the Lord's Supper — 
through Confirmation, which is the resumption of the Baptismal obli- 
gation — Sacraments open to all true disciples of Christ — free as the 
Saviour's blood — the Church has no right to restrict them from any 
who love their Lord — the clergy bound to administer them — liable to 
punishment if arbitrary — no substitution of human traditions in place 
of the Divine commandments — the sacraments of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church open to all Christians in our land. 



132 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

The title of this section is a phrase synonymous with 
the more common but less correct phrases : Admission 
to the Church, or to the privileges of the Church, or of 
Church membership. Any person having free access 
to the sacraments is, in that fact, shown to be in full 
communion with his brethren. And the chief subjects 
of watchfulness are the sacraments ; and discipline con- 
sists generally in the limitation or forbiddal of sacra- 
mental privileges. It is, therefore, an important char- 
acteristic of any Church — the mode or rules of admis- 
sion to the sacraments. 

The sacraments of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
in the language of its catechism, are " two only, as gen- 
erally necessary to salvation — that is to say, Baptism and 
the Supper of the Lord." 

1. Baptism. — The rule for admission to baptism is 
in the rubric prefatory to the Office for its ministration : 
" "When any such persons as are of riper years are to be 
baptized, timely notice shall be given to the minister ; 
so that due care may be taken for their examination, 
whether they be sufficiently instructed in the principles 
of the Christian Eeligion ; and that they may be ex- 
horted to prepare themselves, with prayers and fasting, 
for the receiving of this Holy Sacrament." 

The only public confession required is in the follow- 
ing extract from the same service : 

" The Minister shall then demand of the Persons to he baptized 
as follows, the Questions being considered as addressed to 
them severally, and the Answers to be made accordingly : 
Question. Dost thou renounce the devil and all his works, the. 

vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the 

same, and the sinful desires of the flesh ; so that thou wilt net 

follow, nor be led by them ? 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 133 

Answer. I renounce them all ; and, by God's help, will en- 
deavor not to follow, nor be led by them. 

Question. Dost thou believe all the Articles of the Christian 
Faith, as contained in the Apostles 1 Creed ? * 

Answer. I do. 

Question. Wilt thou be baptized in this Faith ? 

Answer. That is my desire. 

Question. Wilt thou then obediently keep God's holy will and 
commandments, and walk in the same all the days of thy life ? 

Answer. I will, by God's help." 

It will be perceived that nothing is required, for this 
holy ordinance of entrance into Christ's visible Church, 
more than a solemn confession of Christ and self -dedi- 
cation to his service, a renunciation of the sins' of the 
world, the flesh, and the devil, and a declaration of be- 
lief in the great historical facts and uncontroverted 
practical doctrines of Christianity. There is no pro- 
fession of any Philosophy of Eeligion, or of anything 
not clearly revealed and declared in the Scripture ; no 
requisition of anything not indispensably necessary to 
the spiritual character of a true disciple of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

2. The Supper of the Lord. — The rule for admis- 

* This Creed, a concise and beautiful summary of Christian doctrine, 
is as follows : 

" I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth : 

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord ; Who was conceived by 
the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, 
Was crucified, dead, and buried ; He descended into hell (or He went 
into the place of departed spirits), The third day he rose from the dead ; 
He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father 
Almighty ; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Ghost ; The holy Catholic Church, The Com- 
munion of Saints ; The forgiveness of sins ; The resurrection of the body ; 
And the life everlasting. Amen." 



134 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

sion to the Supper of the Lord is in the Rubric at the 
end of the Order of Confirmation : " There shall none 
be admitted to the Holy Communion, until such time as 
he be confirmed, or be ready and desirous to be con- 
firmed." 

Confirmation is administered by the Bishop to such 
persons as, being prepared for the Holy Communion, are 
recommended to him by the parish minister for the or- 
dinance : " The minister of every parish shall either 
bring, or send in writing, with his hand subscribed 
thereunto, the names of all such persons within his par- 
ish, as he shall think fit to be presented to the Bishop 
to be confirmed."* 

The public confession then made in Confirmation is 
all that is required for the Supper of the Lord. It is in 
the following : 

" Then shall the Bishop say (to the persons to be 
confirmed), 'Do ye here, in the presence of God, and 
of this congregation, renew the solemn promise and vow 
that- ye made, or that was made in your name, at your 
baptism ; ratifying and confirming the same ; and ac- 
knowledging yourselves bound to believe and do all 
those things which ye then undertook, or your sponsors 
then undertook for you \ ' 

And every one shall audibly answer, 
'I do.'" 

It will be perceived that the only confession required 
is the ratification or renewal of the baptismal vow and 
the baptismal faith. 

The same remarks made on that baptismal confession 
are equally applicable here. 

* Rubric at the end of the Catechism. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 135 

The Sacraments in the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
we have shown, are open to all who receive the truth of 
the Scriptures, and who have devoted themselves to the 
discipleship of the Son of God. Whatsoever may be 
his peculiarity of opinion on a thousand topics of bibli- 
cal interpretation or of systematic and philosophical the- 
ology, whatsoever may be his natural infirmity of mind 
or the prejudices of his education, whether he be Cal- 
vinist or Arminian, of the old school or of the new 
school, or none of these, if he he a true disciple of the 
Messed Redeemer ', the man is welcome to the sacraments 
of his Master. 

There is a stronger view of this fact. Such a man 
as this referred to may come and demand admission to 
the sacraments, and there is no power in the Church to 
refuse him; he may demand the sacraments, and he 
may prosecute the clergyman who shall contumaciously 
and arbitrarily refuse them to him, even to ecclesiastical 
censure and degradation.* 

We ask the reader to look again at the requisites for 
admission to the sacraments, and we tell him that, if he 
can return the answers there given to the questions there 
propounded, he will be welcome to all the privileges of 
Church-membership ; nay, he has a right lawfully to de- 
mand that he be received to an equality in all things 
with his brethren in the Protestant Episcopal Church.f 

* See the Section (No. 11) on Discipline. 

f To be a minister, be it remembered, however, more is required, viz. : 
" conformity to the doctrines, discipline, and worship of the Protestants 
Episcopal Church in the United States," as these are at any time canon- 
ically denned by the authority of the whole Church. This has been ex. 
plained in Section 6, on the Ordination and Duties of Ministers, and will 
be further explained in the next Section (9), on Creeds. 



136 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

The longer we have lived, and the more deeply and 
prayerfully we have thought upon this subject, the 
more thoroughly are we convinced that the rule here 
exhibited is the true one. As the redemption of Christ 
is effectual for all who turn to Him, as the Holy Spirit 
works in holiness upon all hearts that open themselves 
to Him, independently of all intellectual tests or asso- 
ciational conditions, so let the two only sacraments of 
the Church be open to all His sincere followers who 
accept the great facts of the Gospel, and who, confess- 
ing the Saviour, love Him truly and are led by His 
Spirit. 

It is in our heart to enlarge much upon the subject 
of this section, and to defend more elaborately these 
regulations of the Protestant Episcopal Church ; but we 
must leave them to the decision of the reader upon his 
own investigation of their merits. 

The theory of the Protestant Episcopal Church is, 
that the sacraments of our Lord are as free to all His 
true disciples as are the benefits of His precious blood. 
And sin is upon the man, or the Church, that dares to 
put any bar between the sacraments and the true disci- 
ple of our Lord. But, alas ! how often in our Protestant 
land do they " teach for doctrines the commandments 
of men," and substitute mere human traditions in place 
of the commandments of God ! We hold that the 
Church may not reject any whom Christ has admitted 
to His love, and whom Christ will not reject at the last. 
If the Church of Rome has erred in withholding the 
cup from the laity, what shall we say of those Protes- 
tant Churches which perseveringly withhold both the 
bread and the wine from all, even true disciples of 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 137 

Christ, wlio cannot conscientiously believe, or profess 
to believe, in certain peculiar and unimportant dogmas ? 
When Christ our Lord has declared, " He that believeth 
and is baptized shall be saved," and when He has com- 
manded all those who love Him, " Do this, as oft as ye 
eat this bread and drink of this cup, in remembrance of 
Me," what right has the Church (the company of His 
disciples, bound to obey Him, and to fulfil His. will in 
all things) to superadd to His commands the conditions 
of its frail and unwise humanity ? At this moment 
there are hundreds of Churches, professedly Protestant, 
in our land, contending with each other, each systemat- 
ically debarring forever from Christ's sacraments, in the 
keeping of itself (supposed, in the very theory of its 
separation from other Churches, to be the " one body," 
the model of the one universal Church), the thousands 
and tens of thousands of Christ's beloved disciples who 
do not conscientiously believe, or declare a belief, in 
certain tenets or practices which are made and put for- 
ward by them as terms of communion — a belief in which 
is, upon their own acknowledgment, in nowise necessary 
to either the formation or the proof of the Christian 
character, a spiritual discipleship of Christ. To take a 
single illustration, there is a Christian Church in the 
United States numbering about fifteen hundred thou- 
sand members, the Methodist Episcopal Church ; and 
it is a distinctively Arminian Church. ISTow its mem- 
bers are, upon the acknowledgment of all, in great num- 
bers most devotedly pious and exemplary followers of 
Christ. Yet not one of these fifteen hundred thousand 
Christians could be received into regular standing, as a 
member, of a large proportion of the Churches, profess- 



138 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

edly Calvinistic, of our country. So far as the theory 
or system of these last named Churches is concerned, 
every one of these fifteen hundred thousand Christians 
would be compelled to live and to die without the sac- 
raments of their Lord; not because they do not love 
Christ, not because they do not wish His sacraments, 
not because they do not fulfil all His commandments, 
but simply because they cannot believe in a certain way 
upon certain topics, purely intellectual and not con- 
nected with Christian spirituality — simply because they 
cannot comply with certain instructions or devices of 
men. And for aught we know to the contrary, there 
may be some Arminian Churches in our country as par- 
ticular in the exclusion of Calvinists from the sacra- 
ments of their Lord. No terms of communion should 
ever be insisted on but such as the Lord has clearly re- 
quired — faith in Him, and confession of His name, and 
a Christian heart and life. Matters of mere opinion 
and interpretation, precepts of external order, rules of 
expediency however expedient and not of Divine re- 
quirement, philosophical or metaphysical dogmas, the- 
ories of morals or of political convictions, none of these 
should be ever made terms of communion. And yet 
there are religious bodies which repel persons from the 
Lord's Supper, unless they hold certain views and make 
certain promises not prescribed by Christ — in one case 
as to secret societies, in another case as to musical in- 
struments or arrangements, in another case as to modes 
of missionary effort, in another case as to the pledge of 
total abstinence, and so on. These lay burdens which 
the Lord never laid upon His people, and do the very 
things which the Romanists do, and show how extremes 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 139 

meet. We speak of Church systems. Acccordingly 
we say that, if Romanism be the name of a system 
which sets up unlawful terms of admission to the sacra- 
ments, which superadds to Christ's commands merely 
human traditions, and which therefore oppresses and 
tyrannizes over Christ's true disciples, and which there- 
in disobeys and dishonors Christ, then there is such a 
thing in our country as Protestant Romanism, and that 
on a large scale. And it is necessary that the cry of 
the great Reformers be continued even in our day and 
country, " Come out and be separate," until the Refor- 
mation of Christ's Church be complete, and her prim- 
itive purity be restored, and her members all " stand fast 
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free." 

We love our Christian brethren in all denominations 
— all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. But 
we cannot, and ought not to, speak otherwise than sol- 
emnly and strongly of errors, especially when they are 
so widely prevalent, and when the very perfectness of 
Christ's Church and the Christian liberty of His dis- 
ciples are so imminently endangered, so systematically 
violated. 

It is the spirit of intolerance which has so divided 
the Church, and these thoroughly false and unchristian 
notions of what is required for admission to the sacra- 
ments. The Lord's Table has been regarded as belong- 
ing to men rather than to the Master ; and men have 
dictated their own terms of communion, in a thousand 
matters of personal opinion and prejudice, instead of suf- 
fering every poor sinner who has confessed his Lord 
and loves Him, to fulfil that dear Lord's dying com- 
mandment, " Do this in remembrance of Me." 



140 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

There is one Church which may hold all these Chris- 
tians — one in which they shall all be welcome to the 
sacraments of their common Lord, and in which, while 
they shall be " all one in Christ Jesus," they shall be at 
liberty to differ as widely as they may please on the 
many topics which now divide them, the determination 
of which is not essential to holiness or to salvation. 
Being thus united, they will have less to separate them 
even on these points, and may hope for an honest and 
an earlier agreement in their intellectual theories. 



SECTION IX. 

CEEEDS. 



Enumeration of the creeds of the Protestant Episcopal Church — in what 
respects the creeds are obligatory upon the members of the Church — 
the laity — the clergy — the Apostles' Creed only to be believed and 
confessed ex ardrno — the creeds are adopted by the majority of the 
■whole Church in the General Convention — the benefit of the creeds 
— why the Church requires any creed — no other, more minute and 
explicit than the Apostles' Creed, ought to be required for admis- 
sion to the sacraments — the system of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in regard to her creeds favorable to the discovery and the se- 
curity of Christian truth — the Protestant Episcopal Church fitted for 
the union of all Christians who love their Lord supremely, and each 
other affectionately and forbearingly. 

The basis of all religious doctrine and practice in 
the Protestant Episcopal Church is Holy Scripture. So 
do all Churches claim, none more decidedly than the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, as in the sixth article: 
" Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to sal- 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 141 

vation ; so that whatever is not read therein, nor may 
be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man 
that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or 
be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." So, too, 
in the question put to every Presbyter and Bishop at 
his ordination : " Are you persuaded that the Holy 
Scriptures contain all doctrine required as necessary for 
eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ ? And are 
you determined out of the said Scriptures to instruct 
the people committed to your charge, and to teach or 
maintain nothing as necessary to eternal salvation but 
that which you shall be persuaded may be concluded 
and proved by the Scripture ? " 

I. What are the standards of doctrine of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church % 

These are contained in the two books of Homilies, 
the thirty-nine Articles of Religion, and in the lan- 
guage of the various formularies and offices of the 
Church. 

II. What are its creeds ? The Apostles' Creed, and 
also the Nicene, which more fully interprets the former. 

In what respect are the creeds obligatory upon the 
members of the Protestant Episcopal Church ? The 
Apostles' Creed is required to be believed and con- 
fessed ex animo by every person, clerical and lay, in 
communion with this Church through the sacraments. 
This is the only creed which is required to be so be- 
lieved and confessed by any member of this Church. 
The reasons of the requisition were -alluded to in the 
last section. 

In the case of the clergy there is a further obliga- 
tion. Every Deacon, and Priest, and Bishop is obliged, 



143 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

prior to his ordination, to " engage and promise con- 
formity to the doctrines (and discipline, in the case of 
the Bishop) and worship of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States." * 

The object accomplished by this engagement of con- 
formity is the harmony, and, in general terms, the inter- 
nal unity of the Church. 

III. May the creeds or the standards of doctrine be 
changed ? 

Theoretically, everything in the Prayer Book is un- 
der the control of the General Convention, with the 
consent of the majority of the Diocesan Conventions. 
But, practically and actually, the creeds can never be 
changed, because they lie at the foundation of the 
Church as a teacher of doctrine. They are the testi- 
mony of the universal Church, from the days of the 
apostles to the present time, as to what the true doc- 
trine of the Church is ; and the appeal as to all points 
contested is to them as the most authoritative witnesses 
of Christian truth. And all our formularies as stand- 
ards of doctrine rest upon them. These formularies 
may from time to time be changed in their phraseology, 
not affecting fundamental doctrine. They may be short- 
ened or amplified, and their form may be modified as 
the exigencies, or necessities, or activities of the Church 
may from time to time require. But the great essential 
doctrine of the Church, as set forth in the Scriptures 
and the universal or catholic creeds, will remain " as it 
was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world 
without end." 

IV. We will now briefly reply to two or three in- 

* See Section 6, on the "Ordination and Duties of Ministers." 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 143 

quiries which may be proposed by different classes of 
readers. 

1. Since the members of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church are expected, or rather required, to believe 
heartily, and confess publicly, only one of the creeds, 
the Apostles', and that the most concise and the most 
general and Scriptural in its terms, what is the benefit 
of these creeds ? 

We reply : These creeds, as they exist from time to 
time, are the religious faith of the whole Church. On 
all matters contained in them, therefore, the members 
of the Church learn to be kind and tolerant toward each 
other. 

Furthermore and chiefly, these creeds, next to the 
Scriptures, and helping to interpret them as author- 
itative and most impressive witnesses, serve as standards 
of religious faith and duty, and are powerful agents to 
instruct the ignorant, to confirm the wavering, to re- 
strain the rash, and to guide the inquiring. 

2. Since only the Apostles' Creed is made the test 
of religious (intellectual) opinion for admission to the 
sacraments, why does the Church require any creed for 
this purpose % 

We reply : Because the confession of religious faith 
on these occasions is Scriptural^ and has been practised 
by the universal Church in all ages ; and the form on 
these occasions in the apostolical and primitive Church 
was substantially the same with that contained in the 
Apostles' Creed. We contend, moreover, that there is 
nothing oppressive in requiring the confession of this 
creed, inasmuch as all Christians 'accept it as containing 
the essential articles of the Christian faith. 



144 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

As to the abstract propriety of standards of faith or 
doctrine in a Church (not as articles of faith or terms 
of communion or requisites for the sacraments), we 
contend that there always must and will be such from 
the very nature of things. Even in those cases where 
it is supposed that no creeds exist, the prayers and ser- 
mons of the minister or preacher, the Psalms and the 
Hymns in use, etc., are the exponents and represent- 
atives of the religious opinions, that is, they are the 
creeds, of the congregation which adopts and approves 
them as its own. 

3. Since none other than the Apostles' Creed is oblig- 
atory (that is, under the penalty of a refusal of the sac- 
raments except it be confessed) upon the members of 
the Church, and since all persons who believe the 
Scriptures and are not infidels will acknowledge this 
creed, whatever may be their differences in interpreting 
and explaining the Scriptures, is there not, therefore, 
danger to the doctrines of the Church from such liber- 
ality ? and ought not another and more minute and ex- 
plicit creed to be substituted ? 

We reply : The Church has no right to require any 
further intellectual qualifications for the sacraments 
than a belief in the plain and indisputable facts and 
teachings of the Scripture, such as is expressed, substan- 
tially, in the Apostles' Creed. When it goes beyond 
this, it sets up human reasonings, the doctrines of men, 
as the terms upon which men are to receive the privi- 
leges of Christ's Church — a usurpation which cannot 
be justified. It is not for the Church, in the execution 
of its trust, to say what is danger on the one hand, or 
what is expediency on the other. It is simply to admin- 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 145 

ister the ordinances of Christ npon His own terms, and 
as He himself would to all His true disciples, and leave 
the protection of its doctrines to the gracious and mighty 
providence of its great Head. 

"We grant that the standards of doctrine in the 
Church, as they exist from time to time, are, possibly 
or theoretically, liable to be changed or modified ; but 
we contend there is no danger to Christian truth under 
the regulations objected to. The object of the Church 
is not to perpetuate the thousand peculiar interpreta- 
tions of Scripture and the many other opinions which 
happen at any one time to be generally maintained. Its 
object is to perpetuate the Scriptures, and to develop 
and extend Christian truth. It is secured completely 
against any hasty or immature change of its standards ; 
while, at the same time, it keeps itself ready and willing 
to allow any change in them, whensoever the cautious 
judgment and mature deliberation of the whole Church 
has prepared it for such a change, and the lawful decis- 
ion of the true majority demands it. 

Under the existing regulations of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, there is room for the most free en- 
joyment of honest private opinion, and liberty for the 
most unreserved discussion ; there are no penalties nor 
restraints upon opinion or discussion. And whensoever 
any opinion, at variance with any other at present em- 
bodied in its standards, shall become the opinion of a 
majority of the whole Church, if a case so improbable 
may be supposed, it may then, in a quiet and regular 
way, be acknowledged, and the public standards and 
teachings of the Church be made to conform to it. In 
the mean time it must be thoroughly tested, and truth 
7 



146 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

will be promoted by the discussion. If the opinion be 
not so manifestly truth as to commend itself in the dis- 
cussion to the majority of the whole Church, it certainly 
is not worthy of being publicly or formally acknowl- 
edged. If, on the other hand, it be so manifestly truth, 
there surely ought not to be any hindrance to its public 
and formal acknowledgment. 

Let the minority then, if there be such on any ques- 
tion, while they have unrestrained access to all the priv- 
ileges of the Church of Christ, and while there is no 
bar to the utmost freedom of discussion, and none 
therefore to the eventual triumph of truth (and the 
opinions of any hypothetical minority are supposed by 
them to be truth), be wisely satisfied with their assured 
liberty of opinion and discussion, so long as their access 
to the sacraments is not hampered by any wrong tests 
or unscriptural. conditions. Let them labor on for truth. 
If they have it with them, they will ultimately and cer- 
tainly carry the whole Church by the truth. Let them 
labor in faith ; for their efforts as brethren, and within 
the Church, will be vastly more effective than their 
efforts as opponents or adversaries without it. 

It appears to us that a Church having such -regula- 
tions as those of the Protestant Episcopal Church is 
constituted, better than all others, for the elucidation, 
the extension, and the perpetuity of Christian truth ; 
and therefore for the union of all those who love our 
Lord with supreme devotion, and who love each other 
with brotherly kindness and affectionate forbearance. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 147 



SECTION X. 

DOCTRINE. 

The doctrine of the Protestant Episcopal Church Scriptural ar.d practi- 
cal — enumeration of some prominent doctrines — reference to stand- 
ards — the position of the Protestant Episcopal Church in relation to 
doctrines connected with the philosophy of religion — the -thirty-nine 
Articles — especially the seventeenth article— controversies concerning 
them — formerly — now ceased — benefit of the controversy — history of 
the Articles — their sense in the English Church — to be literally and 
liberally interpreted — quotations from Bishop Burnet and Bishop 
White — both Calvinists and Arminians always in the English Church 
— subscriptions of the clergy — history of the Articles of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States — established in 1801 — are ar- 
ticles of peace — both Calvinists and Arminians in the Protestant 
Episcopal Church — members of this Church free to be either, and to 
discuss their opinions — both clergy and laity — but the pulpit is pro- 
tected from both— the clergy to preach only Scripture — these, if they 
please, as Scripture, but not as a system — neither Calvinism nor Ar- 
minianism, as such, may be advocated or be condemned in the pulpit 
— only the Word of God to be preached — proved — the Protestant 
Episcopal Church well arranged to unite all Christians of all opposing 
views on these subjects. 

The doctrine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as 
taught in its various formularies and standards, is strictly 
Scriptural and practical, rather than philosophical and 
abstract ; and this is generally, we believe, as it ought 
to be universally, the doctrine taught by its living min- 
istry from the pulpit. 

That man is by nature very far gone from original 
righteousness, and utterly unable to do anything good 
of himself ; that the Lord Jesus Christ made, by his 
one oblation of Himself once offered, a full, perfect, 



148 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the 
sins of the whole world ; that no man can be saved ex- 
cept he be a disciple of Christ, and be converted by the 
Spirit of God ; that the Holy Ghost is always reproving 
the unconverted, and sanctifying the watchful and pray- 
erful believer ; that whosoever will, may (the Holy Spirit 
being ever ready to help) come to Christ and be saved ; 
and that all who do not repent of sin, and believe (prac- 
tically and spiritually as well as intellectually) in the 
Son of God, are exposed to everlasting damnation, and 
can never see God if they die without repentance and 
without faith, are cardinal and prominent doctrines, and 
are continually repeated in all its Confessions of Faith 
and standards of instruction, exhortation, and prayer. 

The doctrines of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
adjunct to those here mentioned, and on many other 
points which we have no space to notice or to defend, 
may be seen by the reader who will examine its pub- 
lished standards. 

Our chief design in this section is to define the posi- 
tion of the Protestant Episcopal Church as respects 
those doctrines which are especially connected with the 
philosophy of religion, and are known by the names of 
Calvinism and Arminianism. These two general names 
cover, in popular language, several varieties of opinion. 

It has been debated very much formerly, and chiefly 
in the Church of England, by the Calvinists, that cer- 
tain of the thirty-nine Articles of Religion are favorable 
to their views ; and by the Arminians, that these and 
other of the Articles, and portions of the public formu- 
laries, are favorable to their opinions. That controversy 
was the occasion of a very thorough historical research 



THE COMPEEHENSIVE CHURCH. 149 

into the opinions of the first English Reformers, and 
their connection with the Continental divines. It was 
also the occasion of a very careful comparison of the 
respective dates or periods when the English Articles 
and Formularies were first arranged, and when the 
Calvinistic and Arminian systems were first generally 
agitated. The controversy has of late years almost en- 
tirely ceased ; and it is now very generally conceded 
that the Articles of the English Church (with which, in 
fact, the controversy is mainly concerned) were framed, 
not with a reference to the systems known afterward 
distinctively as Calvinism and Arminianism, but with 
a reference to previous systems maintained in the 
Churches of the East and of the West prior to, and at 
the date of, the Reformation. Their object was pri- 
marily to elucidate the ancient doctrines of the Chris- 
tian Church, and to expose many errors of the Church 
of Rome ; and not to decide upon questions which had 
hardly begun to be controverted by the Continental 
Protestants. 

Not to enter upon a discussion of the sense of the 
Articles, we wish to state that there always have been, 
in the Church of England, both Calvinists and Armin- 
ians of every grade in full communion with that Church 
and in the discharge of its highest offices, clergymen 
and laymen ; and that their respective systems have 
been very freely and extensively treated and disputed, 
without subjecting any of the controversialists to disci- 
pline. Now, in the Church of England, every clergy- 
man is obliged to subscribe the Articles " willingly, and 
ex animo, and acknowledge all and every Article to be 
agreeable to the Word of God." At the same time each 



150 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

subscriber must take the Articles " in the literal and 
grammatical sense." In this way, while the Articles 
concerned in this discussion are worded in general terms 
capable of several constructions, men may conscientious- 
ly subscribe them with different opinions. The facts 
referred to show that even in England these Articles 
are not supposed to be decisive upon either side of the 
question between the disputants. In confirmation of 
our statement, we may add that Bishop Burnet, at the 
close of his elaborate exposition of the seventeenth arti- 
cle, declares: "The Church has not been peremptory, 
but a latitude has been left to different opinions ; " and 
Bishop White, of our own time, in his " Comparative 
Views," asserts : " The Reformers of the Church of Eng- 
land did indeed accommodate to an opposition of opin- 
ion existing as early as the fifth century of the Christian 
Church." 

At all events, whatever may be the sense of the Ar- 
ticles in the English Church, those of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States are not to be 
judged strictly by that sense, but by themselves. 

The Articles of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 
the United States were not established by the General 
Convention until September 12th, in the year 1801, 
after the whole subject of Articles of Eeligion, and of 
these in particular, had been before the Church and the 
General Convention for many years. They were finally 
adopted in their present form as articles of peace and 
a declaration of opinion, and not as authoritative upon 
the conscience, like the Apostles' Creed, as articles of 
faith or terms of communion. They are binding upon 
the laity just so far as they expound and testify to 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 151 

Christian truth, and illustrate the general judgment of 
the Church ; and in this influence, as testimony, they 
have great force. They are obligatory upon the clergy 
just so far as they are embraced under the " promise of 
conformity to the doctrines, etc., of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church." This obligation is, nevertheless, suf- 
ficient for the maintenance of concord, and of uniform- 
ity in the public instructions of the pulpit. 

An interesting and succinct history of the discussion 
of the Articles in the General Convention, and of their 
final establishment in 1801, is copied into the Appendix 
No. C, from the " Memoir of the Life of Bishop White," 
by the Eev. Bird Wilson, D. D., Professor of Systematic 
Divinity in the General Theological Seminary of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. 

From this history of their establishment it appears 
that all efforts to make them speak more distinctly on 
either side of the controverted systems of philosophical 
theology were rejected, and that the Articles were 
finally left without any reference to the more modern 
controversies. 

As a matter of fact, too, there are Calvinists and 
Arminians among both the clergy and the laity of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, and 
all are considered as perfectly justified in holding their 
particular views. 

The opinion of the writer, which he states with dif- 
fidence, as he has formed it from a consideration of the 
history of the Articles in our American Church, as com- 
pared with the obligations assumed in the services for 
baptism and confirmation, and in the ordination offices, 
is this — that all the members of the Church, both clergy 



152 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHUKOH. 

and laity, are at liberty to hold any opinions they may 
see best on these systems, and are also at liberty to dis- 
cuss their opinions as they may please, and at ail times, 
with one exception. This exception regards the public 
preaching of the clergy. The writer supposes that no 
minister of this Church has any right to advocate either 
of the controverted systems, as such, in the pulpit. Else 
these Articles are not Articles of peace, and will not ac- 
complish uniformity in the public ministry. If one 
minister may argue for, or declaim against, the one sys- 
tem, another minister has an equal right to argue for, or 
declaim against, the other system ; and thus the pulpit 
may be contradictory, and the Articles be made, con- 
trary to their design, Articles of contention. The writer 
supposes that, in the purpose of this Church, no minis- 
ter is to be known in his pulpit as a Calvinist or an Ar- 
minian ; that he has no right there to preach the one or 
the other system, or to condemn the one or the other as 
such. He has a right to explain the Articles, as the de- 
cisions of the Church, or to preach on any of their topics 
as Scriptural, in the pulpit. He may advocate a philo- 
sophical system out of the pulpit as he may see fit. But 
in the Protestant Episcopal Church, the entire preach- 
ing of the minister, and all the instruction he may com- 
municate to any in his ministerial or official character, 
must he purely Scriptural. The office of the ministry 
in this Church is solemnly, and singly, and jealously de- 
voted to the heralding of the "Word of God. 

A few extracts from the Ordination Services will 
sustain our assertion. In the exhortation in the Ordi- 
nation of Priests is the following decisive passage : 

" Forasmuch then as your Office is both of so great 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 153 

excellency, and of so great difficulty, ye see with how 
great care and study ye ought to apply yourselves, as 
well to show yourselves dutiful and thankful unto that 
Lord who hath placed you in so high a dignity ; as also 
to beware that neither you yourselves offend, nor be oc- 
casion that others offend. Howbeit ye cannot have a 
mind and will thereto of yourselves ; for that will and 
ability is given of God alone : therefore ye ought, and 
have need, to pray earnestly for His Holy Spirit. And 
seeing that ye cannot by any other means compass the 
doing of so weighty a work, pertaining to the salvation 
of man, but with doctrine and exhortation taken out of 
the Holy Scriptures, and with a life agreeable to the 
same ; consider how studious ye ought to be in reading 
and learning the Scriptures, and in framing the man- 
ners both of yourselves and of them that specially per- 
tain unto you, according to the rule of the same Scrip- 
tures ; and for this self -same cause, how ye ought to 
forsake and set aside, as much as ye may, all worldly 
cares and studies. 

" We have good hope that ye have well weighed 
these things with yourselves long before this time ; and 
that ye have clearly determined, by God's grace, to 
give yourselves wholly to this Office, whereunto it hath 
pleased God to call you : so that, as much as lieth in 
you, ye will apply yourselves wholly to this one thing, 
and draw all your cares and studies this way ; and that 
ye will continually pray to God the Father, by the me- 
diation of our only Saviour Jesus Christ, for the heav- 
enly assistance of the Holy Ghost : that by daily read- 
ing and weighing the Scriptures, ye may wax riper and 
stronger in your Ministry ; and that ye may so endeavor 



154 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

yourselves, from time to time, to sanctify the lives of 
you and yours, and to fashion them after the rule and 
doctrine of Christ, that ye may be wholesome and godly 
examples and patterns for the people to follow." 

Then the three questions and answers, in the ordi- 
nation of both Priests and Bishops, the only ones which 
relate particularly to preaching, are these : 

" The Bishop. Are you persuaded that the Holy 
Scriptures contain all Doctrine required as necessary for 
eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ % and are 
you determined out of the said Scriptures to instruct 
the people committed to your charge, and to teach 
nothing, as necessary to eternal salvation, but that 
which you shall be persuaded may be concluded and 
proved by the Scripture f 

Answer. I am so persuaded, and have so deter- 
mined, by God's grace. 

The Bishop. "Will you be ready, with all faithful 
diligence, to banish and drive away from the Church 
all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's 
Word / and to use both public and private monitions 
and exhortations, as well to the sick as to the whole 
within your cures, as need shall require, and occasion 
shall be given ? 

Answer. I will, the Lord being my helper. 

The Bishop. Will you be diligent in prayers, and 
in reading the Holy Scriptures, and in such studies as 
help to the knowledge of the same, laying aside the 
study of the world and the flesh ? 

Answer. I will endeavor so to do, the Lord being 
my helper." 

Thus it appears that the Scriptures only are recog- 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 155 

nized in the public ministry of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church ; and 'that there is no obligation, and indeed no 
permission, to its clergy to preach except upon the 
Sacred Scriptures immediately and distinctly. 

Hence, while all the members of the Church, both 
clergy and laity, are left at perfect liberty to form and 
to hold and to discuss any conscientious opinions on 
these controverted systems, arid this, too, without affect- 
ing any of their rights or privileges of Church-member- 
ship, at the very same time the pulpit is protected from 
discords, and the people are secured in their right to be 
always instructed from the Sacred Scriptures ; and the 
public ministry is compelled ever to fulfil its one holy 
office of publishing the divine truth, of proclaiming to 
a needy world the message of that mercy and salvation 
which God has provided through His Son and Spirit. 

Does not the Protestant Episcopal Church deserve 
the approbation of all Christians, however they may 
differ on these controverted doctrines ? And does it 
not come before them, and offer itself to them all, as 
a friendly arbiter, by whom their differences may be 
reconciled, or, at least, by whose agency they may 
"agree to differ," when they shall have learned that 
their Christian interests, and aims, and hopes, and affec- 
tions are common, and that they may worship God in a 
common temple ? 



156 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 



SECTION XI. 

DISCIPLINE. 

The Discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church not arbitrary — regu- 
lated by law — the occasions defined by the General Convention — the 
modes by the Diocesan Conventions — the subjects. The Ministry — 
degrees of discipline — enumeration of offences liable to discipline — 
prosecutors — candidates for orders liable as laymen — mode of trial 
of ministers — each order tried by peers — sentence pronounced by the 
Bishop. The Laity — occasions and mode of Discipline — right of ap- 
peal — first to the Bishop — then to a special Ecclesiastical Diocesan 
court. Discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church rather merciful 
than austere — defended — open to improvement — present principles 
just — -proper to an all-embracing Church. 

The Discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
is not arbitrary ; it is denned and regulated by law. 

The occasions on which discipline shall be adminis- 
tered are all defined by the General Convention. 

The particular modes of its administration are for 
the most part defined by the Diocesan Conventions. 

The subjects of discipline are — all unworthy mem- 
bers of the Church, both of the ministry and the laity. 

1. The Mhntistey. — There are three degrees of dis- 
cipline, namely, admonition, suspension, and degradation. 
Deposition and displacement are synonymous with deg- 
radation.* 

The offences which make any minister liable to dis- 
cipline are various : such as discontinuance of his min- 
istry, neglect of public worship or of the holy com- 
munion, frequenting improper places of amusement, 

* Title II., Canon 2. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 15 7 

presenting an unworthy candidate for ordination, ob- 
stinate refusal to resign a rectorship in case of certain 
specified differences with his congregation,* violation 
of his ordination vows and of the laws and canons of 
the Church, as well as immoralities of all sorts, f 

Any minister wishing to renounce the ministry of 
this Church may, at his own request, be displaced ; and 
if his moral character be not implicated, this fact shall 
be declared.;}: 

AYhenever there is a public rumor, or a formal com- 
plaint, against any minister, it is the duty of the Bishop 
or of the Standing Committee, as the case may be, to 
take measures for bringing the individual accused to 
trial. § 

Candidates for the ministry are liable in their char- 
acter as laymen. If any candidate, however, shall de- 
lay longer than three years to apply for his first and 
second examinations, or longer than five years to apply 
for his third and fourth examinations, unless the Bishop 
for sufficient reasons grant him a special permission for 
such delav, his name must be struck from the list of 
candidates | 

In all ecclesiastical trials one rule applies, that the 
accused party is to be tried by his peers — a Deacon 
or Presbyter by a court of Clergymen, a Bishop by 
Bishops. 

In every trial of a minister, the decision of the eccle- 
siastical court appointed or provided for by the Conven- 
tion of the Diocese to which he belongs, is definitive. 
The accused may be allowed a new trial if there be new 

* Title II., Canon 4. f Ibid., Canon 2. % Ibid., Canon 5. 

§ Ibid., Canon 2. j Title I., Canon 4, Section 10. 



158 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

or fuller testimony to be presented. But there is no 
court of appeal of higher authority than the ecclesiasti- 
cal court referred to, since each Diocese is independent 
in the management of its own affairs. 

Every sentence, after the decision of such ecclesi- 
astical court, is pronounced by. a Bishop, whether it be 
against a Deacon, or a Presbyter, or a Bishop.* 

2. The Laity. — The occasions and the mode of dis- 
cipline, in the case of the laity, are both expressed in 
the first two Rubrics, prefatory to the Order for the 
Administration of the Lord's Supper, as follows : 

" If among those who come to be partakers of the 
Holy Communion, the Minister shall know any to be an 
open and notorious evil liver, or to have done any wrong 
to his neighbors by word or deed, so that the Congre- 
gation be thereby offended ; he shall advertise him, that 
he presume not to come to the Lord's Table until he 
have openly declared himself to have truly repented 
and amended his former evil lif e, that the Congregation 
may thereby be satisfied ; and that he hath recompensed 
the parties to whom he hath done wrong; or at least de- 
clare himself to be in full purpose so to do as soon as 
he conveniently may." 

In these Rubrics it will be seen that a very solemn 
responsibility is laid upon the soul of the minister him- 
self who is watching for the souls of his people, and 
one which he cannot shirk from himself or upon any 
other, and which he cannot divide with any other. If 
discipline in a needful case is ever exercised, he must 
initiate it. 

" The same order shall the Minister use with those 

* Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Art. 6. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 159 

betwixt whom lie perceiveth malice and hatred to reign, 
not suffering them to be partakers of the Lord's Table 
until he know them to be reconciled. And if one of 
the parties, so at variance, be content to forgive from 
the bottom of his heart all that the other hath trespassed 
against him, and to make amends for that wherein he 
himself hath offended ; and the other party will not be 
persuaded to a godly unity, but remain still in his f row- 
ardness and malice ; the Minister in that case ought to 
admit the penitent person to the Holy Communion, and 
not him that is obstinate. Provided, that every Minis- 
ter so repelling any, as is herein specified, shall be 
obliged to give an account of the same to the Ordinary, 
as soon as conveniently may be." 

These Eubrics are condensed in Title II., Canon 12, 
Section 2, as follows : " If any persons within this 
Church offend their brethren by any wickedness of 
life, such persons shall be repelled from the Holy Com- 
munion agreeably to the Kubric." 

Every layman, subjected to discipline as above, has 
a right of appeal to the Bishop. And if the Bishop 
think not best to reverse, that is, if he should approve, 
the action of the clergyman, the person has a right to 
demand a trial by such ecclesiastical court as is provi- 
ded for by the canons of the Diocese to which he be- 
longs. And the decision of such court is definitive. 

Any clergyman who should exercise discipline arbi- 
trarily and without sufficient and canonical cause, would 
himself be liable to a prosecution (both civil and eccle- 
siastical) by the layman or others, for a violation of the 
canons -of the Church. 

If any Bishop, in his action on the report of a cler- 



160 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

gyman in reference to his suspension of a communicant, 
or upon the appeal of any person repelled, should deal 
unjustly or arbitrarily, such Bishop may be proceeded 
against on a charge of violating his ordination vow to 
"execute discipline," etc., provided the wrong should 
be so flagrant and clear that " Rye male communicants 
of this Church in good standing, belonging to the Dio- 
cese of the accused, of whom two at least must be Pres- 
byters," or " seven male communicants of this Church 
in good standing, of whom two at least shall be Pres- 
byters, and three of which seven shall belong to the 
Diocese of the accused " (Title II., Canon 9), shall be 
willing to present charges in writing, with a view to the 
presentment of the Bishop for trial by his peers. This 
contingency is mentioned simply because we wish to 
illustrate the whole subject. It is one which never has 
occurred to our knowledge, and probably never will 
occur. 

Thus the clergyman and the layman are each pro- 
tected, the former in the fulfilment of his duty, the 
latter against the tyranny of an arbitrary clergyman. 

It is perceived from the foregoing statements, that 
the clergyman has the sole right of exercising discipline 
in the case of a layman ; while it is also perceived that 
the layman has a right of appeal and of self -protection, 
if he be innocent, and, indeed, a right of punishing the 
arbitrary and tyrannical clergyman. 

It may be supposed by some that, under these cir- 
cumstances, a clergyman will be tempted to relax disci- 
pline and to deal too leniently with even very unworthy 
members of the Church. If it were so, it would be bet- 
ter that the error should be on the side of mercy than 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 161 

of severity, upon the acknowledged principle : " Better 
that ten guilty should escape than that one innocent 
should suffer." But to disprove the supposition, let it 
be remembered that, if the clergyman feels more the 
temptation to remissness as an individual, he also, as an 
individual, feels more of responsibility in fulfilling the 
personal and special trust committed to him. Besides, 
while he is faithful in discharging his duty, he will in 
most cases be tender toward the offending. And again, 
he will have the most powerful and constraining mo- 
tives to use all possible means of private and pastoral 
exhortation and remonstrance to reclaim the offending, 
in order to save himself the necessity of exercising dis- 
cipline. It is frankly admitted that no system of dis- 
cipline is free from the defects which come from the 
weakness and frailty of men. In those communions 
where discipline is exercised by the members in Church 
assemblies, or by a few specially deputed, the influences 
of partisan feelings, or of family connections, or of 
wealth, or of social or civil position, have been prover- 
bially, in frequent cases, the occasion of scandals, and 
have seriously interfered with just decisions. So there 
may be defects in the method here exhibited ; but we 
regard it as less open to objections, and better provided 
with safeguards, than any other. Finally, under the 
regulations here detailed, besides the peculiar benefits 
just referred to, there are all the benefits supposed to 
be incident to discipline by the congregation or Church 
directly ; for all the individuals who, under other regu- 
lations, would themselves administer the discipline in 
their congregational or Church capacity, may now com- 
pel the clergyman, if he be manifestly too remiss, to 



162 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

perform his duty, under the pain of being brought by 
them to ecclesiastical trial for neglect of duty and vio- 
lation of his ordination vows and of the canons of the 
Church. 

It is to be expected that the experience of the 
Church, and the occurrence of new facts, will suggest 
(as has been already done continually) many improve- 
ments in the details of the whole system of ecclesiastical 
discipline. There will be a continual approximation 
toward a perfect system, even if such be never actually 
attained. Still it is thought that the principles in the 
present system are both liberal, and just, and efficient ; 
and while they secure all the members of the Church 
against the tyranny of the ministers or of the brethren, 
they at the same time provide ample and effective in- 
strumentalities for promoting the peace and honor of 
the Church, and for advancing the Christian holiness of 
its members. 

"We believe that the principles of ecclesiastical dis- 
cipline in the Protestant Episcopal Church are proper 
for an extensive, all-embracing Church. 



SECTION XII. 
PUBLIC WORSHIP 



Public worship in the Protestant Episcopal Church by Precomposed For- 
mularies — shall not discuss their propriety — the substance of them 
generally approved and admired — reference to an answer to some ob- 
jections — generally used by dissenters in England — not in this coun- 
try — but preferred by many of the pious and intelligent non-Episcopal 
clergy, and by many of their laity, in our country — the Festivals and 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 163 

Fasts of the Protestant Episcopal Church observed in many denom- 
inations — the reading of the Bible without note or comment in public 
worship becoming more common in other denominations — also the 
responsive social reading of the Scriptures and worship better un- 
derstood — the Liturgies of the Protestant Episcopal Church under 
the control of the Church — may be changed by a majority (in the 
General Convention) to any extent, even to abrogation — subject of 
changes sometimes discussed — when necessary or generally desired 
will be accomplished — those who love uniformity and order of some 
sort in public worship, may be united in the Protestant Episcopal 
Church. 

It is already well known to the reader, probably, 
that on all solemn stated occasions where an Episcopal 
Congregation is convened for the purpose of pnblic 
worship, a precomposed form is employed for the pur- 
pose of directing uniformly and regularly the various 
devotional exercises of the assembly. 

Our object here is not to discuss the propriety or 
the advantages of employing such a form. 

As to the particular forms of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, we believe that if any of our readers, of 
whatsoever Christian denomination he may be a mem- 
ber, will take the trouble to peruse candidly the various 
contents of the Book of Common Prayer of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church, he will be ready not only to 
tolerate it, but he will esteem it as able and as interest- 
ing a leader of his devotions as any to which he may 
have been accustomed.* 

The conviction is growing upon the public mind of 

* An able answer to several of the most common prejudices against 
the Liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal Church — prejudices originating 
altogether in a misapprehension of the subject — may be found in a quo- 
tation from the Rev. Calvin Culton's " Thoughts on the Religious State 
of the Country," in the Appendix, No. D. 



164 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

Protestant Christians that precomposed formularies of 
devotion are important. The Rev. Calvin Colton, who 
spent several years in England (himself being then a 
minister of the Presbyterian Church), writes as follows : 
" Having been intimate with Dissenters while in that 
country, I can say with pleasure that I never discovered 
among dissenting ministers and the most enlightened of 
their laity any degree of prejudice against the Liturgy, 
but rather a partiality in favor of it. Indeed, the entire 
Liturgy is actually used in a vast many dissenting chap- 
els of London and over the kingdom. The whole of 
Lady Huntingdon's Connection use it ; it is used in 
Whitfield's Chapels, at Tottenham Court Poad, and 
at the Tabernacle, Moorfields, and in many others that 
might be named. I am clearly of opinion that there is 
little or no obstacle in the way of the return of the 
great majority of Dissenters to the bosom of the Eng'- 
lish Church, except the union of Church and state." 

It is not true, indeed, that in this country non-Epis- 
copalians have yet commenced the practice of using 
the Liturgy regularly. The prejudices have heretofore 
been too strong against it. But these are wearing away, 
perhaps, we may say, in a great measure worn away. 
The writer has been acquainted with many very re- 
spectable non-Episcopal ministers of various denomina- 
tions ; and in conversation with them on this subject, 
they have almost uniformly conceded their approval of 
a Liturgy, and not unfrequently they have expressed 
warmly their own desire to use one. Similar views are 
expressed often among the more intelligent of their 
laity. The Book of Common Prayer is now much 
more generally known ; portions of it are extensively 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 165 

used, with its Anthems, its Glorias, its Te Deum, its 
Gloria in Excelsis, its Collects and Prayers, in their 
public worship ; and we believe that, in the large ma- 
jority of the extemporaneous public prayers of the pres- 
ent day, passages of the Liturgy will be recognized, 
naturally and liberally incorporated therein. 

Then, again,- the solemn religious Festivals and Fasts 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church are commonly ap- 
proved ; and the more important of these special re- 
ligious anniversaries, such as Christmas, Easter, Whit- 
sunday, are now very generally observed in our country. 

The extensive reading of the Bible, without note or 
comment, which is so prominent in all Episcopal ser- 
vices, is becoming more common, and is made more 
prominent in the services of other denominations. 

So, too, the responsive reading of the Scriptures, 
and the responsive worship, which make every Epis- 
copal Church like the social family group of worship- 
pers, are better understood, and are even recommended 
often as worthy of imitation. 

Our object is not to discuss the principle on which 
Liturgies are composed, nor to explain or apologize for 
the Liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal Church. We 
have stated briefly the above facts to illustrate the as- 
sertion, that the public are not so much opposed to a 
Liturgy as to the Liturgy ; and not so much opposed to 
the substance of the Liturgy as to the particular arrange- 
ment of its parts. Some think it too long, others too 
diversified ; some think it too general, others too partic- 
ular ; but all think it good, all admire it. 

Our object in this section is to call attention to the 
fact that the Liturgical Formularies, the public worship 



166 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

or Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
are all under the control of the Church. They may be 
changed to any extent which, to the majority of the 
whole Church represented in the General Convention, 
may seem advisable. The General Convention has the 
whole subject under its cognizance. Any General Con- 
vention may propose an alteration or addition to any 
extent, and it must inform the several Diocesan Con- 
ventions of the proposal ; and if the next General Con- 
vention thereafter approve it, the proposed alteration or 
addition becomes the law of the Church. Thus changes 
may at any time, and to any extent, be effected, accord- 
ing to the varying circumstances and wants of the whole 
Church.* 

The subject of modifications in the Liturgy has fre- 
quently been touched upon, and been considerably dis- 
cussed, in the General Convention. Some modifications 
have been introduced ; others, when proposed, have 
been rejected. There has never yet been any expres- 
sion of opinion, sufficiently general and sufficiently defi- 
nite, by the whole Church, to warrant or authorize any 
very extensive changes. But the spirit of the General 
Convention is liberal, and necessarily so from the mode 
of its organization ; and whensoever there shall be any 
sufficiently general and definite demonstration by the 
Church that extensive changes are demanded, then such 
changes will be accomplished. 

It has been supposed that, in the matter of public 
worship, there is an inflexible stiffness in the Protestant 
Episcopal Church ; that this Church is bound down to 
a fixed and invariable form, which can never be mocl- 

* Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Art. 8. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 167 

ified nor adapted to the changes in the public sentiment 
or taste, or to the varying circumstances and wants of 
society. It appears from onr statements that this com- 
mon supposition is altogether erroneous ; that, in the 
matter of public worship, the pliability of the Church is 
as manifest as in all its other arrangements ; that in this, 
as in everything else, the will of the majority of the 
whole Church is the supreme law. 

It is astonishing what misapprehensions prevail in 
regard to this subject. It seems to be supposed that a 
rigid and arbitrary set of forms is necessary to the very 
structure of an Episcopal Church. But, indeed, a per- 
fect Episcopal Church may exist without any precom- 
posed forms whatsoever. It is, however, generally 
maintained by Episcopalians that the use of some pre- 
composed Formularies of public worship are Scriptural. 
The views of the Protestant Episcopal Church on this 
whole subject of the use and obligation of forms and 
ceremonies are expressed frequently and clearly, not 
only in the eighth Article of its General Constitution, 
but in its various standards. Thus, in the thirty-fourth 
Article it is written : " Every particular or National 
Church hath authority to ordain, change, "and abolish 
ceremonies or rites of the Church, ordained only by 
man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying." 
To the same effect the Preface to the Book of Common 
Prayer, at its very beginning, declares : 

"It is a most invaluable part of that blessed liberty 
wherewith Christ hath made us free, that in His wor- 
ship different forms and usages may without offence be 
allowed, provided the substance of the Faith be kept en- 
tire ; and that in every Church what cannot be clearly 



168 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

determined to belong to Doctrine must be referred to 
Discipline, and therefore, by common consent and au- 
thority, may be altered, abridged, enlarged, amended, or 
otherwise disposed of, as may seem most convenient for 
the edification of the people, ' according to the various 
exigencies of times and occasions.' 

" The Church of England, to which the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in these States is indebted, under 
God, for her first foundation and a long continuance of 
nursing care and protection, hath, in the Preface of her 
Book of Common Prayer, laid it down as a rule, that 
' The particular Forms of Divine Worship, and the Rites 
and Ceremonies appointed to be used therein, being 
things in their own nature indifferent and alterable, and 
so acknowledged, it is but reasonable that, upon weighty 
and important considerations, according to the various 
exigencies of times and occasions, such changes and al- 
terations should be made therein, as to those who are 
in places of authority should, from time to time, seem 
either necessary or expedient.' 

" The same Church hath not only in her Preface, 
but likewise in her Articles and Homilies, declared the 
necessity and expediency of occasional alterations and 
amendments in her Forms of Public Worship ; and we 
find accordingly, that, seeking to ' keep the happy mean 
between too much stiffness in refusing, and too much 
easiness in admitting variations in things once advisedly 
established, she hath,' etc." 

From these extracts it appears that the sense of the 
Church on the subject has been clearly and unqualifiedly 
expressed. 

Now, granting for the occasion that the present ar- 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 169 

rangements of the forms and modes of public worship 
in the Protestant Episcopal Church are not, in every 
respect, such as would be acceptable to the majority of 
all the Christians of our country if they were united in 
one Church, is it not at the same time perfectly mani- 
fest that, if they were all united in the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, they might at once, and according "to the 
existing laws of this Church, make such arrangements 
as to such majority would be entirely satisfactory \ Is 
it not also manifest that the majority, which exists at 
any time in this Church, may regulate, to suit itself and 
to accomplish what to it may appear the benefit of the 
whole, the entire order and method of public worship ? 



SECTION XIII. 

EIGHTS OF THE LAITY. 

Arrangement under a single view of previous observations — the laity an 
order in the Protestant Episcopal Church — their rights in parishes — 
rights in Diocesan Conventions — rights in the standing committees — 
rights in the General Convention — rights of Church membership — 
rights in ecclesiastical trials of discipline— rights of full and perpetual 
self-protection — their peculiarity as a constituent order in the Church 
insisted upon — the Protestant Episcopal Church worthy of the appro- 
bation of all Christians. 

We propose to offer nothing new in this section, but 
to recapitulate or arrange, under a single view, the rights 
of the laity which have been unfolded as they have 
come up in the course of our preceding observations. 

The laity are recognized as a distinct and independ- 
ent order in the Protestant Episcopal Church. They 



170 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

have a constitutional or chartered right to act in all the 
legislative affairs of the Church without exception ; and 
this, not as they happen to be members of legislative 
bodies, but as a separate and independent order always 
represented in those bodies. 

To be somewhat more particular : 

I. The laity have a right to manage their own pa- 
rochial affairs as members of separate and independent 
parishes, and to elect their own ministers and settle 
them. 

This right of the laity to the entire control of pa- 
rochial affairs in the calling of ministers is, as is evident, 
a thorough recognition of the Congregational theory of 
the absolute independence of local congregations. But, 
practically, it is not always best for even strong parishes ; 
and it works very badly in the case of feeble parishes 
not able to support themselves. It leaves many parishes 
unsupplied, and many clergy unemployed. It is in- 
consistent with the legitimate and proper influence of 
a Bishop, who, in his paternal relations to both clergy 
and people, is and ought to be the best adviser, and can 
understand best what is needed by all. Even the Con- 
gregationalists and Presbyterians, theoretically denying 
Episcopacy, in their missionary efforts at the West, 
where the stations are dependent upon outside help, 
have felt the inconvenience and the practical impossi- 
bility of carrying out their own theory, and have ap- 
pointed for their missionary districts general agents, or 
overseers or bishops, who exercise in all this matter of 
parochial and ministerial relations just that Episcopal 
oversight and control which ought to be granted by 
law to the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 171 

The right of the laity in the one case here commented 
on is the only one which the writer thinks to be excess- 
ive and not to be praised. In all their other rights, as 
now to be further stated, he sympathizes heartily. See 
also Section III., under the third head. 

II. The laity have the right to hold corporate funds, 
to appoint their own parish officers, etc. ; and, finally, 
to elect or appoint and send lay delegates from the sev- 
eral parishes to represent them in the Diocesan Conven- 
tions. 

III. They have a right, as a separate order, in the 
Diocesan Conventions, in the discussion and passage of 
all legislative acts ; in the appointment of all conven- 
tional committees and officers ; in the election of stand- 
ing committees ; in the regulation of ecclesiastical disci- 
pline, etc. ; and finally, in the election of all the Dio- 
cesan Bishops of the Church, and in the election of cler- 
ical and lay deputies to the General Convention. 

They have a right in the Diocesan Conventions, we 
repeat, being a separate and independent order, to a 
separate vote as such, and in this to an absolute veto on 
all proceedings whatsoever of these Conventions. If it 
should so happen that only a single layman should be 
present as a delegate in any organized Convention, he 
would represent the order of the Laity, and as such 
would have a right to the separate vote, and to the veto 
power, just as if all the lay delegates from all the par- 
ishes of the Diocese were present. 

IY. They have a right, as members of the standing 
committee in many of the Dioceses, to act directly, as 
well as representatively, in advising the Bishop ; in de- 
ciding (during the interims of the General Convention) 



172 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

upon the election of Bishops by other Dioceses ; in 
short, in exercising all the manifold and important 
functions of that body, and especially in recommending 
all candidates for orders, first to be received as candi- 
dates by the Bishop, and afterward to be ordained by 
the Bishop. 

We believe that in this last mentioned fact (as in 
others) the laity in the Protestant Episcopal Chnrch 
exercise a power beyond that exercised by them in any 
other denomination whatsoever. They have something 
to do, and a right to do something, in everything apper- 
taining to the interests or the duties of the Church. ISTo 
person can be either received as a candidate for orders, 
or afterward be ordained, without the consent and rec- 
ommendation of the standing committee. The laity in 
those Dioceses wherein they are members of this body 
may control the very power of ordination. The minis- 
ters in all other denominations, as we understand, do 
actually have the sole charge and control in the licensing 
or appointing of ministers. The ordination of ministers 
(already licensed) in the Congregational Churches is 
nearly equivalent to the settlement or institution of 
ministers in the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

V. They have a right, as an order, in the General 
Convention, to act in the arrangement and regulation 
of all the formularies of the Church and modes of pub- 
lic worship ; in all the legislation of that body ; and, 
finally, in the recommendation and appointment of all 
the Bishops of the Church. 

They have a right, in the General Convention, not 
only to free discussion, but also to a separate vote, and 
to a veto power, in every act of that body. If it should 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 173 

so happen that in any General Convention there should 
be but a single lay deputy present, while all the clergy 
and all the Bishops from all parts of the country were 
also present, that single layman would represent his 
order for the whole United States, and, as such, might 
claim his separate vote, and his veto, in all the doings 
of the body. 

VI. They have a right to all the privileges of Church 
membership, whensoever they give the evidence in their 
life, and are willing to confess with their mouth, that 
they are devoted to the service of God in the disciple- 
ship of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

YII. They have a right to a fair trial in any cases 
of ecclesiastical discipline, and a right not only to pro- 
tect themselves from arbitrary or oppressive treatment 
in such cases, but also to restrain and even to punish 
those who would thus tyrannize over them. 

Not to be more minute (for the reader can extend, 
from the preceding sections, the catalogue of rights), we 
will state that — 

YIII. Finally, they have a constitutional and char- 
tered right, and the power also, to protect themselves in 
the full and perpetual enjoyment of all their rights. 

The point which we wish our readers to observe 
most attentively in these statements is this : that the 
laity are always regarded (and constitutionally regarded), 
in the Protestant Episcopal Church, as a separate and 
independent order / and their influence is felt, not only 
as they happen to be good debaters, or happen to num- 
ber more or less in an ecclesiastical body, but as they 
are a constituent order ; so that whether they lead or 
not in the debates, and whether they are few or many 



174 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 

in the body, they have always, as an order, their inde- 
pendent and legitimate controlling power. 

We ask onr readers to reflect upon the facts here 
presented, and decide for themselves whether any sys- 
tem can be more purely democratical and representative, 
in the best sense of these terms, as providing for the 
action of all its members in all its concerns ; whether 
any system can be more intrinsically and uniformly just, 
either in its organization or in its operation ; whether 
any system can be more deserving of the approbation of 
all humble-hearted and free-hearted Christians. 



SECTION XIV. 

BAPTISM. 



The meaning of Baptism — explained in the 27th Article — the Baptismal 
Service to be interpreted by this Article — doctrine compared with the 
standards of the Methodist, the Presbyterian, and the Congregational 
Churches — the mode of Baptism — immersion or affusion — adults and 
infants — requisites for Baptism — witnesses for adults — sponsors for 
children — duties of witnesses and sponsors — Baptism followed by 
confirmation — will be shown to meet the views of all Christians — 
Baptism the Sacrament of the Confession of Christ— this the view of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church — a Scriptural view — two conditions 
of salvation, Faith and Baptism — St. Mark — a spiritual condition 
and an apparently ceremonial one — confession of Christ in Baptism — 
St. Luke — St. Matthew — St. Paul in Komans — history of the Acts — 
confession of the Eunuch — St. Paul in 1 Corinthians — 1 Peter — Bap- 
tismal Confession a part of Baptism — history of the Church — infant 
Baptism reconcilable with the Baptismal Confession. 

We proceed to consider the sacrament of Baptism 
as held in the Protestant Episcopal Church. 



THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 175 

I. The meaning of Baptism. — This is explained in 
the 27th Article of Religion, by which also the office 
for the administration of Baptism is to be interpreted, 
as follows : 

" Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark 
of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from 
others that be not christened ; but it is also a sign, of re- 
generation or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, 
they that receive baptism rightly are grafted into the 
Church ; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of 
our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, 
are visibly signed and sealed ; faith is confirmed, and 
grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God. The 
baptism of young children is in any wise to be retained 
in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of 
Christ."* 

Please observe that, in the first clauses of this Arti- 
cle, Baptism is declared to be the Sacrament of the 
Confession of Christ. We shall expand the doctrine 
more fully in the latter part of this section. 

* This Article is substantially the same with those of most other or- 
thodox denominations. The 17th Article of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church (formed upon the above) reads thus : " Baptism is not only a 
sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christians are dis- 
tinguished from others that are not baptized ; but it is also a sign of re- 
generation, or the new birth. The baptism of young children is to be 
retained in the Church." The Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States, in the 28th Chapter, is similar : " Baptism 
is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only 
for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church, 
but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his 
engrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his 
giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in. newness of life : 
which sacrament is, by Christ's own appointment, to be continued in His 



176 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

II. The mode of Baptism. — This is by dipping or by 
affusion, at the option of the individual. The Eubric 
in the public baptism of infants is : " He (the minister) 
shall dip it in the water discreetly, or shall pour water 
upon it." The Eubric in the public baptism of adults 
is similar : " The minister then shall dip him in the 
water, or pour water upon him." 

Baptism is administered to both adults and infants. 

1. Adults. — The requisites for the ordinance, in the 
case of adults, are conversion, a new heart, whatsoever 
is implied in the discipleship of Christ, a willingness 

Church until the end of the world. II. The outward element to be used 
in this sacrament is water, wherewith the party is to be baptized in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, by a minis- 
ter of the Gospel, lawfully called thereunto. III. Dipping of the person 
into the water is not necessary ; but baptism is rightly administered by 
pouring, or sprinkling water, upon the person. IV. Not only those that 
do actually profess faith in, and obedience unto Christ, but also the in- 
fants of one or both believing parents, are to be baptized." (Pp. 120- 
122.) The same words are in the Say brook platform, generally approved 
by the Congregational Churches of New England. Both are nearly liter- 
ally the same with the 29th Chapter of the Confession of Faith owned 
and consented to by the messengers of the Churches assembled at Bos- 
ton, in New England, May 12, 1680 (see Mather's "Magnalia," Vol. II., 
Hartford, 1820, p. 111). The language of the larger or Westminster 
Catechism (question 165) is : "Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testa- 
ment, wherein Christ hath ordained the washing with water in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to be a sign and 
seal of engrafting into Himself, of remission of sins by His blood, and 
regeneration by His spirit ; of adoption, and resurrection unto everlasting 
life ; and whereby the parties baptized are solemnly admitted into the 
visible Church, and enter into an open and professed engagement to be 
wholly and only the Lord's." These various Articles we believe to be all 
capable of a Scriptural interpretation ; and certainly that of the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church is, to say the least, as definite and guarded and un- 
exceptionable as any of them all. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 177 

to assume the obligations contained in the answers to 
the questions propounded to the person at the time of 
administering the rite. These questions and answers 
have been already quoted in Section YIIL, on Admis- 
sion to the Sacraments, where the reader may find them. 
The same requisites are declared in the Rubric prelim- 
inary to the service for " the ministration of baptism to 
such as are of riper years and able to answer for them- 
selves," as follows : 

" "When any such persons as are of riper years are to 
be baptized, timely notice shall be given to the minis- 
ter ; that so due care may be taken for their examina- 
tion, whether they be sufficiently instructed in the prin- 
ciples of the Christian religion ; and that they may be 
exhorted to prepare themselves, with prayers and fast- 
ings, for the receiving of this holy sacrament. And if 
they shall be found fit," etc. 

Every adult is. expected to have certain " chosen wit- 
nesses," called godfathers and godmothers, who shall 
stand by his or her side during the administration of 
the rite ; and whose duty it shall be (it being thus pub- 
licly and voluntarily assumed) to exercise a special watch 
and care over the baptized person. At the close of the 
service of adult baptism, the minister addresses these 
" chosen witnesses " as follows : 

" Forasmuch as these persons have promised, in your 
presence, to renounce the devil and all his works, to be- 
lieve in God, and to serve him ; ye must remember that 
it is your part and duty to put them in mind what a 
solemn vow, promise, and profession they have now 
made before this congregation, and especially before 
you their chosen witnesses. And ye are also to call 



178 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

upon them to use all diligence to be rightly instructed 
in God's holy "Word ; that so they may grow in grace, 
and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and live 
godly, righteously, and soberly, in this present world." 

2. Infants. — There is but "one baptism." This 
principle the Protestant Episcopal Church consistently 
maintains. It is the same rite and implying the same 
essential ideas, whether administered to the adult or the 
infant ; there is no such thing as one baptism for adults 
and another for infants ; consequently no infant is al- 
lowed to be baptized, unless there are with it sponsors, 
or sureties to assume, in its oehalf, as a legal and valid 
act, the obligations of the ordinance. The following 
passage from the Church Catechism will illustrate our 
remarks : 

" Question. What is required of persons to be bap- 
tized ? 

Answer. Repentance, whereby they forsake sin ; and 
faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the promises of 
God made to them in that sacrament. 

Question. Why then are infants baptized, when by 
reason of their tender age they cannot perform them ? 

Answer. Because they promise them both by their 
sureties ; which promise, when they come to age, them- 
selves are bound to perform." 

The obligations assumed are precisely the same, in 
baptism, with the infant as with the adult, the sponsor 
answering " in the name of the child," as his legal proxy 
or representative. 

The duties of the sponsors are expressed in the fol- 
lowing exhortation to them at the close of the service 
of infant baptism : 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 179 

" Forasmuch as this child hath promised by you his 
sureties to renounce the devil and all his works, to be- 
lieve in God, and to serve Him ; ye must remember 
that it is your parts and duties to see that this infant be 
taught, so soon as he shall be able to learn, what a solemn 
vow, promise, and profession he hath here made by you. 
And that he may know these things the better, ye shall 
call upon him to hear sermons ; and chiefly ye shall pro- 
vide that he may iearn the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, 
and the Ten Commandments, and all other things which 
a Christian ought to know and helieve to his soul's 
health ; and that this child may be virtuously brought 
up to lead a godly and a Christian life ; remembering al- 
ways that baptism doth represent unto us our profession, 
which is, to follow the example of our Saviour Christ, 
and to be made like unto Him ; that as He died, and 
rose again for us, so should we, who are baptized, die 
from sin, and rise again unto righteousness ; continually 
mortifying all our evil and corrupt affections, and daily 
proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living." 

It is not required that either of the parents shall be 
communicants ; the Church itself being willing, in the 
provision of sponsors, to supply the place of parents ; it 
being thought, likewise, unjust to deprive the children 
of the privilege of Church membership, and of being 
dedicated to the Lord by the public act of the Church 
and its ministers, on account of the negligence or fault 
of the parents.* 

* It is almost unnecessary to add, after exhibiting the peculiar office 
and duty of sponsors, that these ought always to be communicants, and 
that no minister may be justified in admitting children carelessly to bap- 
tism, without regard to the Christian character of their sponsors. 



180 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

III. The act of baptism is always followed by the 
rite of Confirmation. 

The rule in the case of adults is in the Rubric at the 
end of adult baptism : 

" It is expedient that every person- thus baptized 
should be confirmed by the Bishop, so soon after his 
baptism as conveniently may be ; that so he may be ad- 
mitted to the Holy Communion." 

The rule, in the case of infants, is in the concluding 
exhortation to the sponsors : 

" Ye are to take care that this child be brought to 
the Bishop to be confirmed by him, so soon as lie can 
say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Com- 
mandments, and is sufficiently instructed in the other 
parts of the Chvrch Catechism set forth for that pur- 
pose" 

This exhortation is interpreted, as may be proved 
by a collation of the offices referred to, as meaning a 
spiritual and experimental knowledge of religion, as 
opened in these means of instruction, a willingness and 
preparedness to assume the whole baptismal vow. 

We hope in our next section to show that the views 
of Baptism held in the Protestant Episcopal Church are 
such as to reconcile completely and beautifully the op- 
posing opinions entertained on the subject by different 
denominations. 

IV. Baptism, in the view of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, as interpreted by the arrangements and rubri- 
cal directions of the baptismal offices, is the Sacrament 
of the Confession of Christ. 

This view is so held because it is the teaching of 
Holy Scripture, and has been so received and witnessed 



THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 181 

by the universal consent and practice of the Church in 
all ages. 

The Scriptural argument is very simple and conclu- 
sive. When our Saviour ascended into heaven, He pub- 
lished two grand conditions of salvation for all men in 
all ages : " He that belie veth and is baptized shall be 
saved, but he that belie veth not shall be damned " (St. 
Mark 16 : 16). Of these two, one is subjective and the 
other objective ; one is an internal and spiritual condi- 
tion, the other an external and seemingly ceremonial 
condition. And these are the only two. All other ap- 
parent conditions must be classified under the one or 
the other of these two. 

Thus this first condition of faith includes (if not in 
rigid metaphysical definition, yet in the actual expe- 
rience of believers, and also in the careful analysis of 
God's Word) repentance, and love, and all spiritual 
Christian affections — all those spiritual qualifications 
which prepare the soul for the kingdom of heaven. 
Up to this point, I suppose, there will be a general 
agreement in our statement. 

But when we come to that second and seemingly 
ceremonial one of the two great conditions of salvation, 
Baptism, people hesitate to accept it, and chiefly be- 
cause they do not comprehend it in this sense of it, as 
the Sacrament of the Confession of Christ. For our 
Lord said : " Whosoever therefore shall confess me be- 
fore men, him will I confess also before my Father 
which is in heaven, and (as in St. Luke 12 : 8) before 
the angels of God. But whosoever shall deny me be- 
fore men, him will I also deny before my Father which 
is in heaven, and (as in St. Luke 12 : 9) before the an- 



182 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

gels of God " (St. Matthew 10 : 32, 33). Did the Lord 
here mean to announce a third condition of salvation, 
when afterward He sent His apostles to disciple all na- 
tions with only two f Certainly not. He doubtless had 
prospective reference to that Sacrament of Confession 
which He was so soon to institute for all the future. It 
was not a mere general confession of Him as made by 
nominal Christians, which gives no availing testimony to 
His cause and His sovereignty, but that one significant 
and world-daring confession of Him in the Sacrament 
of Baptism, that permanent admission to His Church of 
one who thus stands as a perpetual confessor of Christ ; 
for " by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." 
So on the day of Pentecost the " three thousand were 
baptized," confessing His name, and " the Lord added 
to the Church daily such as should be saved." 

How beautifully consistent this view is with the 
words of St. Paul, when he, led by his Master's inspira- 
tion, announced the same two great conditions of salva- 
tion under the Christian dispensation, substituting the 
word "confession" for the word "baptism," as convey- 
ing its essential idea ! For he writes, as the summing 
up or conclusion of his strong argument to the Pomans : 
" The righteousness (or justification, or plan of justifica- 
tion) which is of faith speaketh on this wise : Say not in 
thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven % (that is, to 
bring Christ down from above ;) or, Who shall descend 
into the deep % (that is, to bring up Christ again from the 
dead.) But what saith it ? The word is nigh thee,' 
even in thy mouth and in thy heart : that is, the word 
of faith which we preach ; that if thou shalt confess 
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 183 

thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, 
thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth 
unto righteousness (or justification) ; and with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation " (Romans 10 : 6-10). 
How distinctly does St. Paul bring out the same two 
great conditions which our Saviour uttered, as recorded 
by St. Mark ! Believing in Christ, and confessing 
Christ in the one appointed mode of confession, that 
is, in Baptism, thus by perpetual membership in the 
Church becoming a perpetual confessor — these two, as 
we interpret St. Paul by his Master, are the two grand 
conditions of salvation. How intelligible and very clear 
to our understanding are these two essential conditions 
of the New Covenant ! 

With this view agrees the history of Christianity. 
When Philip the deacon baptized the eunuch of Ethi- 
opia, the eunuch, who had been taught by Philip the 
claims of Christ's kingdom, said : " See, here is water ; 
what doth hinder me to be baptized % " To which 
Philip replied : "If thou helievest with all thine heart 
(compare this with St. Paul's expression above quoted), 
thou mayest." Whereupon the eunuch said : " I believe 
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Then Philip 
"baptized him." He repeated his creed. He confessed 
Christ in that first creed of the Christian Church, found- 
ed upon St. Peter's still earlier confession. He con- 
fessed this in order to receive his baptism, as a condi- 
tion and a part of his baptism. And from that day to 
this the baptismal confession has always been required 
in the Christian Church as apart of Christian Baptism, 
and is always renewed and repeated in the Christian 
worship. We never cease to be confessors. It was this 



184 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

baptismal creed or confession, somewhat expanded as 
the growing necessities of the Chnrch had required, 
which St. Paul repeated when he wrote to the Corin- 
thians (1 Cor. 15 : 3, 4) : " For I delivered (or handed 
over) unto you, first of all, that which I also received 
(as handed over unto me at my entrance into Christian- 
ity), how that Christ died for our sins according to the 
Scriptures ; and that he was buried, and that he rose 
again the third day according to the Scriptures." 

And in addition to all this, and as a final and com- 
plete declaration and enforcement of this old view of 
the Church catholic, agree those memorable words of 
St. Peter (1 Peter 3 : 21) : " Baptism doth also now 
save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, 
but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ." That is, that which 
saves us in Baptism is not chiefly the " putting away of 
the filth of the flesh," the mere washing of the body by 
the water of the sacrament ; but especially the " answer 
of a good conscience" (a case of the exegetical gen- 
itive), the good conscientious answer or response toward 
God made in Baptism ; in other words, the sincere and 
thoroughly comprehended confession of Christ at our 
Baptism in the baptismal creed before God — this saves 
us. How beautifully does Scripture explain itself ! And 
how consistent with itself it is when we " compare spir- 
itual things with spiritual ! " 

With this view agree also the unbroken history and 
testimony of the Church down to the present day, as we 
shall see more fully in the following section. 

But how can the Baptism of Infants be reconciled 
with this view, since they cannot consciously make the 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 185 

confession required ? We shall see how the Church in 
all ages has answered the question, and how the Holy 
Spirit, who inspired the apostles, ordained a rite, and 
established it in the Church, by which the difficulty is 
reconciled and solved. We refer to the following Sec- 
tion on Confirmation. 



SECTION XV. 



CONFIRMATION, THE SEQUEL OR COMPLEMENT OF INFANT 
BAPTISM. 

Confirmation follows Baptism — reasons for this rule — the rite of admis- 
sion to the Lord's Supper — no new obligation assumed in it — the re- 
assumption of the Baptismal obligation — analogous, in part, to the 
"owning of the Christian Covenant" in other denominations — some 
grounds on which Confirmation is defended — speeial consideration of 
the relation of Confirmation to Infant Baptism — Baptism implies vol- 
untary confession of Christ after faith — Infant Baptism imperfect 
without some rite attached to it, as a sequel, for adult confession — 
Confirmation this rite — supported by legal analogies — this the view 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church — proved — importance of Con- 
firmation — a part of a Comprehensive System — the 'Protestant Epis- 
copal Church differing from all other Protestant communions in this 
matter, and reconciling their controversies — the foregoing principles 
applied to the system of Pedobaptist Churches — which are faulty — 
may be reformed by the system of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
— applied to the views of Baptists — Confirmation shown to be de facto 
adult Baptism — may be by immersion — Baptists may consistently 
with their principles unite with the Protestant Episcopal Church — 
objection answered — our view in perfect accordance with the Congre- 
gational system of Baptists — Confirmation, being de facto adult Bap- 
tism, is in harmony with a de facto ministry and de facto sacraments, 
such as Baptists acknowledge and maintain — the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church well qualified to unite both Pedobaptist and Baptist com- 
munions, and thus to restore the unity of the Church of Christ. 



186 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 

Confirmation, we have seen, is expected to follow 
Baptism as soon as conveniently and properly may be, 
in the case of those baptized, both in their riper years 
and in their infancy.* 

* As the form or service for the rite of Confirmation in the Protestant 
Episcopal Church is very short, and as we refer to it frequently in this 
section, we throw the whole of it, for convenience, into a note. 

The Order of Confirmation, or laying on of hands upon those who are 
baptized and come to years of discretion. 

Upon the day appointed, all that are to be then confirmed, being placed and standing 
in order before the Bishop ; he, or some other minister appointed by him, shall 
read this preface following : 

To the end that confirmation may be ministered to the more edifying 
of such as shall receive it, the Church hath thought good to order, that 
none shall be confirmed but such as can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, 
and the Ten Commandments ; and can also answer to such other ques- 
tions as in the short Catechism are contained : which order is very con- 
venient to be observed ; to the end that children, being now come to the 
years of discretion, and having learned what their godfathers and god- 
mothers promised for them in baptism, may themselves, with their own 
mouth and consent, openly before the Church, ratify and confirm the 
same ; and also promise that, by the grace of God, they will evermore 
endeavor themselves faithfully to observe such things as they, by their 
own confession, have assented unto. 

Then shall the Bishop say : 

Do ye here, in the presence of God and of this congregation, renew 
the solemn promise and vow that ye made, or that was made in your 
name, at your Baptism ; ratifying and confirming the same ; and acknowl- 
edging yourselves bound to believe and to do all those things which ye 
then undertook, or your sponsors then undertook for you ? 

And every one shall audibly answer : 

I do. 
Bishop. Our help is in the name of the Lord ; 
Answer. Who hath made heaven and earth. 
Bishop. Blessed be the name of the Lord ; 
Answer. Henceforth, world without end. 
Bishop. Lord, hear our prayer, 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 187 

I. One reason why Confirmation is expected to follow 
Baptism as soon as circumstances warrant, is this : that 
by Confirmation the person is admitted to the Supper of 
the Lord, and it is thought by the Church that every 

Answer. And let our cry come unto thee. 

Bishop. Let us pray. 
' Almighty and ever-living God, who hast vouchsafed to regenerate 
these thy servants by water and the Holy Ghost, and hast given unto 
them forgiveness of all their sins ; strengthen them, we beseech thee, 
Lord, w r ith the Holy Ghost, the Comforter ; and daily increase in them 
thy manifold gifts of grace ; the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the 
spirit of counsel and ghostly strength, the spirit of knowledge and true 
godliness ; and fill them, Lord, with the spirit of thy holy fear, now 
and forever. Amen. 

Then all of them in order kneeling before the Bishop, he shall lay his hands upon the 
head of every one severally, saying : 

Defend, Lord, this thy child [or, this thy servant] with thy heavenly 
grace ; that he may continue thine forever, and daily increase in thy 
Holy Spirit more and more, until he come unto thy everlasting kingdom. 
Amen. 

Then shall the Bishop say : 
The Lord be with you. 
Answer. And with thy spirit. 

And all kneeling down, the Bishop shall add : 

Let us pray. 

Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name ; Thy King- 
dom come ; Thy Will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven ; Give us this 
day our daily bread ; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those 
who trespass against us ; and lead us not into temptation ; but deliver 
us from evil. Amen. 

And these Collects : 

Almighty and everlasting God, who makest us both to will and to do 
those things which are good, and acceptable unto thy Divine Majesty ; we 
make our humble supplications unto thee for these thy servants, upon 
whom, after the example of thy holy Apostles, we have now laid our 
hands ; to certify them, by this sign, of thy favor and gracious goodness 



188 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

baptized person ought to come, at the earliest oppor- 
tunity, to the Supper of the Lord. Of course, then, he 
must come at the earliest opportunity to the preliminary 
rite. This is a rule of order. 

That Confirmation is this preliminary rite has been 
shown in the Rubric last quoted, from the close of the 
office of adult baptism. It is also asserted in the Rubric 
at the close of the order of Confirmation, which may be 
seen in the last note (at the foot of this page). 

The Protestant Episcopal Church holds that, after 
Baptism, no new obligations may be required for ad- 
mission to the Lord's Supper. In Baptism the person 
confesses, to its full extent, the discipleship of the Lord 
Jesus Christ ; and this is all that is needed to entitle 
him to a seat among his fellow-disciples at the Table of 
their Lord. It holds that it is both inconsistent in itself 
and unscriptural to require of a person, once by its own 
act already admitted to the name and privileges of a 
member of the Christian Church, any new or different 

toward them. Let thy Fatherly hand, we beseech thee, ever be over 
them : Let thy Holy Spirit ever be with them ; and so lead them in the 
knowledge and obedience of thy Word, that in the end they may obtain 
everlasting life, through our Lord Jesus Christ ; who, with thee and the 
Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth ever one God, world without end. Amen. 
Almighty Lord, and everlasting God, vouchsafe, we beseech thee, 
to direct, sanctify, and govern both our hearts and bodies, in the ways 
of thy laws, and in the works of thy commandments ; that through thy 
most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body 
and soul, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Then the Bishop shall bless them, saying thus : 

The blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost, be upon you, and remain with you forever. Amen. 
And there shall none be admitted to the Holy Communion, until such time as he be 

confirmed, or be ready and desirous to be confirmed. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 189 

obligations before lie may be' allowed to obey bis Lord's 
command : " Do this in remembrance of me." Accord- 
ingly, in Confirmation there is no new obligation as- 
sumed. It is nothing more nor less than a solemn re- 
assumption of the one baptismal obligation. And the 
Church very properly holds that, if any of its members 
should be unwilling to conform to its rules of order, so 
far as to be unwilling to confess Christ publicly a sec- 
ond time, and to be made a special subject of the pray- 
ers of the Church and of its chief earthly pastor for the 
strengthening grace of the Holy Ghost, he would, by 
such unwillingness, be proved unfit for the sacred Feast 
of ChristVhumble and prayerful disciples. 

In almost all religious denominations there is some 
rite, called the " owning of the Christian covenant," or 
by some other name, which interposes between Baptism 
and the Supper of the Lord. Confirmation is such a 
rite. But if in any case a Church should require in 
such a rite any obligations different from those required 
in Baptism, it would, by the requisition, be elevating 
the institutions of man above the laws of Christ. 

There is a peculiar reference in Confirmation to In- 
fant Baptism, to which we shall presently ask particular 
attention. First, however, we will state briefly some of 
the other grounds on which the rite is defended. 

It is contended that Confirmation was instituted by 
the Apostles, and administered by them always, as in 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, as soon as possible 
after Baptism ; that the earliest Christian fathers tes- 
tify to its continuance, and enjoin it in strong terms ; 
that the Church universal has always practised it ; * that 

* From the Apostolical age to the Protestant Reformation there is 



190 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH, 

it is a most effective bond of unity, by which every 
member of the Church becomes introduced personally 
to his chief pastor under Christ, and voluntarily ac- 
knowledges his canonical authority and superintend- 
ence ; that the particular benediction of a venerable 
man of God and a chief officer in the Church, received 
in this rite, is desirable ; that to be made a special sub- 
ject of prayer by the whole Church, met together in the 
name of Christ, is profitable ; that to repeat the baptis- 
mal vow of self -consecration to the Lord's service is in 
itself confirmatory of the disciple's faith and purposes ; 
that if these considerations were absent, and the rite 
were simply an ordinance of the Church for the sake 
of promoting decency and order in its services, there 
would be nothing objectionable in it, but much to rec- 
ommend it. 

The force of all these considerations applies in the 
case even of persons who have been baptized in adult 
or riper years. 

We will not dwell upon this view of our subject. 

II. We now ask the attention of the reader to our 
main design in this section — a statement of the relation 
of Confirmation to Infant Baptism. 

Our argument is brief and distinct. There is but " one 
Baptism." The same ideas must be always implied in it, 
upon whomsoever administered. There are two great 
ideas, as the Protestant Episcopal Church interprets the 

no question of this assertion. Since that era all Protestant Episcopal 
Churches have retained it, and all the Lutheran Churches (even those not 
Episcopal) have retained it. And the learned and leading men in all 
those Protestant Churches which have not retained it, from Calvin and 
Beza down to the heads of the non-Episcopal bodies of the present day in 
our own country, have strongly favored the reestablishment of the rite. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 191 

Scriptures, always implied in it — the one a voluntary 
confession of the person baptized by Christ and His 
Church, the other a voluntary confession of Christ on 
entering His Church (after repentance and faith, i. e., 
conversion) by the person baptized. ISTow, in Infant 
Baptism the former may exist, but the latter cannot 
exist. The voluntary confession of Christ, after repent- 
ance and faith, cannot be made by the infant directly ; 
and therefore the Church has appointed sponsors or 
sureties (legal agents, like the guardians of minors) to 
make it " in the name of the child." There must, it is 
therefore contended, in order to secure to an adult the 
perfectness or completeness of his Infant Baptism, be 
some one public act, having Divine sanction or apos- 
tolic precedent, as distinctive as Baptism itself, ap- 
pointed by the Church which practises Infa/nt Bap- 
tism, for the definite and special object of allowing 
every person baptized in infancy to come before the 
Church and the world, when arrived at years of discre- 
tion and having exercised repentance and faith, there 
solemnly to assume his baptismal obligations to him- 
self, and, by approving and acknowledging his Infant 
Baptism, to thus transfer it, to all intents and pur- 
poses, to his maturity, as his own voluntary adult act. 

This view is not only suggested by common sense ; 
it is sustained by manifest and abundant legal analogies. 
The adult thus acknowledges the infant (i. e., himself 
in his infancy) as his proxy ; he clothes the sponsors of 
his childhood with his power of attorney ; he approves 
them as his agents, and binds himself to their acts. And 
what occasion can be more appropriate to this one pub- 
lic and solemn act, than that which combines with this 



192 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

act so many other delightful and impressive associations 
— viz., the rite of Confirmation ? 

In the Protestant Episcopal Church, the former idea 
in Baptism (the voluntary confession of the person bap- 
tized by Christ and His Church) is accomplished upon 
the infant ; and the latter idea (the voluntary confession 
of Christ by the person baptized, after repentance and 
faith), which is separated from the former in respect of 
time only so far as the nature of the case requires, is 
provided for in the rite of Confirmation, which is thus 
shown to be intimately connected with Infant Baptism, 
and is really apart of it, and its proper and necessary 
sequel or complement. 

This peculiar relation of the rite of Confirmation in 
the Protestant Episcopal Church to Infant Baptism will 
be readily perceived by any one who will compare to- 
gether the Church Catechism and the offices of Baptism 
and Confirmation.* 

* It maybe objected to this view that the Protestant Episcopal Church 
does in one case allow private Baptism of infants without sponsors. 
But the very fact alluded to confirms our views. The Protestant Episco- 
pal Church (we speak not of the customs of any of its ministers or mem- 
bers who neglect or violate its regulations) allows private Baptism with- 
out the confession of the baptismal obligation only in one case, that of 
infants or children when the life of the child is in such imminent haz- 
ard that public Baptism cannot be performed. The confession of Christ 
by the sponsors for the child is in this case omitted, because there is no 
reasonable probability nor hope that the child will ever live to assume 
it for itself. All is done which in the nature of the case is possible ; 
the parent consecrates his child to the Lord, and the minister of Christ 
baptizes the child in His name. Yet the Church provides that, " if the 
child which is after this sort baptized do afterward live, it is expedient 
that it be brought into the Church, to the intent that the congregation 
may be certified of the time and form of Baptism privately before used." 
At the same time, when this certificate is read, the sponsors must publicly 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 193 

The view here presented is that, although Confirma- 
tion is in many important respects an independent rite, 
there is connected with its administration, in the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Chnrch, an assumption of the previous 
baptismal obligation and act, in such a way that the rite 
is, so far at least as regards Infant Baptism, the regular 
sequel or complement of it. We are looking at the rite 
just as it is in fact, as it exists in the ritual of the Church. 
We ask the reader to examine the order of Confirmation 
as printed just now in a note ; and he will perceive that 
the view here presented — this peculiar relation of Con- 
firmation to Infant Baptism — is altogether the most 
prominent in its administration. 

It appears to us that, in the view presented, we see 
one of the comprehensive arrangements of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church — its capability to unite the op- 
posing denominations of Christians. We think, then, 
that we shall have the attention and the approval of 
our intelligent and candid readers, while we endeavor 
to . show very succinctly the bearing of our statements 
upon that subject. 

The non-Episcopalians in our country are all in two 
classes — Pedobaptists and Baptists ; and very few of 
them practise the rite of Confirmation. 

present the child, and, in its name, make the confession (which was be- 
fore omitted for the reasons given) required in public Baptism, since now 
there is an expectation that the child may live to assume it. In other 
words, so soon as the child recovers from its dangerous sickness, the 
whole service of public Baptism must be performed with it, excepting 
the act of immersion or affusion by water, which was before done, and 
which is now certified. Thus, in all its offices, the Protestant- Episcopal 
Church never neglects to provide for what is considered necessary to the 
completeness of Baptism — the public confession of Christ by the person 
baptized. 



194 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

1. Pedobaptists. — "We see not how any Church of 
Pedobaptists can allow the administration of Infant 
Baptism, while at the same time they neglect to pro- 
vide some one public rite which shall be equivalent, for 
the purpose above stated (the public confession of 
Christ), to Confirmation. It will not do to say that in 
the Lord's Supper is this equivalent ; because the Lord's 
Supper is divinely appointed (and man may not add to 
the appointment nor take away from it) to be the mode, 
not of confessing Christ before the world, but of com- 
memorating Christ in a solemn communion with Him- 
self and His disciples. It will not do to suppose an 
equivalent in any rite, except one, apostolically author- 
ized, which shall be specially designed for the purpose, 
and which shall be directly connected with the Baptism 
of the infant, as a sequel or complement ; because Bap- 
tism is the one and only divinely appointed mode in 
connection with which Christ shall be confessed. 

The Pedobaptist, as appears to us, forgets that, in 
rejecting Confirmation and supplying no equivalent 
for this particular use of the rite, he detracts from the 
perfectness of Infant Baptism ; he provides for the one 
part of Baptism, the confession of the individual by 
Christ and His Church, but he neglects to provide for 
the other part, the confession of Christ by the individ- 
ual. So long as this is the case, he lays himself open to 
the criticisms of his Baptist opponents. Here is a weak 
point in his system which he finds it difficult to cover ; 
which, in fact, he cannot cover. In the Protestant 
Episcopal Church the difficulty is exactly met by the 
peculiar relation of Confirmation to Infant Baptism. 

2. Baptists. — If it be said by our Baptist brethren 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 195 

that Baptism, in the very nature of it as exhibited in 
the Scriptures, involves a conscious and intelligent con- 
fession of Christ, the author of this book distinctly ad- 
mits the statement, and admits the principle involved. 
Baptism is essentially and eminently the Sacrament of 
Confession. It has been entitled the Sacrament of Re- 
sponsibility, and the Sacrament of Regeneration ; but 
it is far more prominently and distinctively the Sacra- 
ment of Confession. The Church, from the apostles 
to this day, has always so recognized it. There is not 
a Liturgy of Baptism in the whole world that does not 
recognize it. The Baptists are right in their principle ; 
for it is the old Church principle from the beginning. 
There never was a Baptism in all the ages separated 
from the confession of Christ, until the non-Episcopal 
Pedobaptists, since the Protestant Reformation, initiated 
such a rite. The confession of Christ is an indispen- 
sable part of a true Christian Baptism. 

On this principle all the baptismal offices of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church are constructed, as we 
have received them from the early ages — those for both 
adults and infants. Even in that apparently exceptional 
case where a child in imminent danger of death is bap- 
tized in private, when the confession by the sponsors 
is omitted, it is provided and insisted on that, if the 
child recover, it shall be brought afterward into the 
Church with sponsors, when the Baptism shall be cer- 
tified, and the confession shall be made for it, in antici- 
pation of the child's formal assumption of that confes- 
sion at its future Confirmation. If the child had died, 
it would have died as a member of the Church, although 
unconscious of its privilege. All would have been done 



196 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

which, in the nature of the case, could be done. But if 
the child lives, that peculiar relation of Baptism to it 
as a moral agent, hound to confess 'Christ in the Sac- 
rament of Confession, is insisted on, and never yielded 
nor forgotten ; and the child must be presented for its 
confession of Christ by its sponsors. 

In the case of persons baptized in infancy, who live 
to maturity and to conscious personal responsibility, 
the full and complete idea of their Baptism is never 
thoroughly consummated until afterward, in their Con- 
firmation, that confession is voluntarily assumed and 
made their own. To make Infant Baptism thoroughly 
consistent with the principle of Baptism as the Sacra- 
ment of Confession, there must he a specific act attached 
to it and connected with it, and in the order of the 
Church inseparable from it, like this of Confirmation, 
and designed to complete the full significance of the 
essential idea of Christian Baptism. Accordingly, 
from the apostles' days to these, such an act has been 
always provided and used in the Church which has de- 
scended historically from the apostles, through that 
Holy Spirit who guided those inspired men in their 
constitution of the Church. We of this period did not 
devise it. We inherit it from our predecessors. We 
offer it, as by a hand held out from apostolic inspiration, 
as a bond of union between Christians in systems other- 
wise utterly irreconcilable, and, with this, capable of a 
perfectly adjusted reconciliation and agreement. 

Now, in reference to the assertion that none but 
adults may be baptized, we reply that Confirmation in 
the view here presented is, de facto, adult Baptism. 
The adult, after repentance and faith, comes forward, 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 197 

and under the most solemn and public circumstances 
declares : "I do here, in the presence of God and of 
this Congregation, renew the solemn promise and vow 
that was made in my name at my Baptism ; ratifying 
and confirming the same ; and acknowledging myself 
hound to believe and to do all those things which my 
sponsors then undertook for me." Be it remembered 
that there has been the washing of the water upon the 
body of the person with the regular Baptismal Form. 
Now, to analyze the above declaration, the adult de- 
clares to this effect : " I acknowledge that washing of 
water which was once performed upon my body with 
the regular Baptismal Form to be now my Baptism ; I 
assume it now as my own by this solemn and public 
act ; and I ratify, and also assume to myself, by this act, 
that baptismal confession and all the baptismal obliga- 
tions which those persons, whom I hereby acknowledge 
as my sponsors, then undertook for me." The analogies 
are numerous. As. a man recognizes the contracts of 
his agents or of his minor children, as a man by his 
note of hand assumes the obligation of a book-debt 
which has been outlawed (to mention a few out of 
many examples), so does the same principle apply in 
the act of Confirmation. It matters not, indeed, at 
what previous time the Baptism by water may have 
been effected, so long as the individual, after repentance 
and faith, in a formal and solemn act, specially appro- 
priated to the purpose by the authority of the Church, 
does expressly assume to himself that Baptism and its 
obligations. In this act of assumption, whensoever it 
occur, he transfers the Baptism of his infancy to the 
moment in which he assumes it ; he makes it his own 



198 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

present adult act. Thus Confirmation is, in this par- 
ticular view of it, de facto, adult Baptism. 

If it be said that immersion is the only valid form of 
Baptism, we reply that the parent may have his chil- 
dren baptized by immersion (for the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church allows either dipping or affusion, and he 
may have his choice and insist upon it) ; and it seems 
to us that a person who was baptized by immersion, with 
sponsors, in his infancy, and who afterward has been 
confirmed in the order of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church (and thus has transferred his Infant Baptism 
by immersion to the moment of his adult years wherein 
he was confirmed), must be acknowledged, upon even 
the strictest principles of our BajDtist brethren, as hav- 
ing had, de facto, all that they esteem essential to Chris- 
tian Baptism.* 

* The assertion, which we sometimes hear, that even adult Baptism, 
and that by immersion, must, in order to be valid, have been administered 
by a minister who has himself been baptized as an adult and by immer- 
sion, we suppose, is not made by intelligent Baptists ; since at the period 
of the Reformation there had been no such thing practised for several 
preceding centuries in Europe, as either adult Baptism or Baptism by 
immersion, the practice of the Roman Catholic Church (with a partial 
exception in England, in the matter of immersion) having been the Bap- 
tism of infants, and that by sprinkling. Accordingly, the validity of the 
first adult Baptisms by immersion, in the chain which began at that time 
(granting for the occasion, although unnecessarily, that there has been 
an unbroken chain in the succession of such Baptisms), must depend 
simply upon the fact that such adults were actually immersed, or im- 
mersed themselves, and not upon the fact that the baptizers had been 
immersed. This assertion would annihilate the validity of all the present 
adult Baptisms by immersion in our country and in the world ; and, there- 
fore, we suppose that no intelligent Baptist would venture to approve it. 
The validity of such Baptisms must rest upon grounds entirely independ- 
ent of the fact whether the minister who performs them has ever been 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 199 

The view of Confirmation presented must commend 
itself, we presume, to our Baptist brethren ; for it is in 
perfect harmony with all the fundamental principles of 
their ecclesiastical system. They acknowledge and con- 
tend for no other than the de facto validity of their own 
ministry and sacraments, i. e., their validity, because 
they exist and are acknowledged by the Church ; in 
other words, because they do actually have, to all in- 
tents and purposes, a ministry and sacraments — a va- 
lidity independent of any particular mode or causes 
through which these exist. Upon the same principles 
they must admit the de facto validity of the Baptism 
(although performed in infancy) of all adults, who, in 
compliance with a special and formal requisition of the 
Church, have voluntarily, after repentance and faith, 
assumed their Infant Baptism as their own adult act. 
Confirmation, in its relation to a person baptized in in- 
fancy, is actually equivalent to adult baptism ; it is, to 
all intents and purposes, adult Baptism ; and such adult 
Baptism, in the very fact that it exists, actually is, upon 
the ecclesiastical principles of Baptists, valid, just as 

so baptized or not. The validity of such Baptisms depends simply upon 
the fact of their actually having been performed (wh ^ther by the individ- 
uals themselves or by others, matters not), without any reference what- 
soever to the qualifications of the minister. The fact, therefore, that 
many of the ministers of the Protestant Episcopal Church were never 
baptized by immersion, would not prevent any intelligent Baptist from 
uniting himself with the Protestant Episcopal Church ; since that fact 
could not affect nor weaken the validity of any immersions which such 
ministers might be called upon to administer, even if such ministers had 
not been themselves previously immersed. Such non-immersed ministers 
would hold the same relation to those whom they should baptize, which 
the first immersers held to those whom they immersed at the commence- 
ment of their system. 



200 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

their own ministry and sacraments (even their own 
Baptism) are valid. The reasoning which would dis- 
prove onr assertion, that Confirmation, as practised in 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, is de facto adult Bap- 
tism (so far as it applies to the case of those who, having 
been baptized in infancy, are as adults confirmed in our 
form), would inevitably disprove also the validity of all 
the ministry and sacraments and ecclesiastical regula- 
tions of all the Baptist Churches. 

We can conceive of only one reason which, so far as 
the whole subject of Baptism is concerned, can operate 
upon the mind of any intelligent and conscientious Bap- 
tist to prevent him from uniting with the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. It is this : he would be obliged to 
communicate in the Lord's Supper, doubtless, with many 
who have never been immersed ; and if he should con- 
scientiously account it sin to do so, he could not consci- 
entiously communicate at the Lord's Table in the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church, where many who have never 
been immersed would doubtless be present. But if any 
Baptist is satisfied to receive for himself and children, 
and all who think with him, such ordinances as himself 
approves, and if he does not deem it a necessary part 
of his duty to decide upon the conclusions of other 
Christians, and if he is conscientiously willing to sit 
down with all other Christians at the Lord's Table, 
leaving it to each to determine his own duty in the fear 
of God (he having all along, for himself and for all who 
think with him, done whatsoever he holds essential in the 
Church and its sacraments, and losing no personal or 
spiritual privilege by such union), then I see no reason 
why such a Baptist may not (so far as any differences 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 201 

oil the subject of Baptism are concerned) unite himself 
at once and heartily with the Protestant Episcopal 
Church. Indeed, he might, without any sacrifice of 
his Baptist principles, bring forward his children to In- 
fant Baptism (by immersion), therein placing them un- 
der the covenant care of sponsors and of the Church, 
.and receiving for himself and children that peculiar 
blessing which any such voluntary and public and faith- 
ful consecration of his children to God would obtain.* 
At the same time his children, after repentance and 
faith in their riper years, might assume, and would be 
required to assume, their Infant Baptism as their own 
adult act (thus making it de facto their adult Baptism) 
in Confirmation, prior to their admission to the Holy 
Communion. 

In looking into the institutions of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church on the subject of Baptism, we find 
that Infant Baptism is allowed, so that the Pedobaptist 
may on this head be satisfied ; while the rite of Con- 
firmation is so connected with it that the Baptist may 
have nothing to object to on the score of his peculiarity. 
We ask : Is there not comprehensiveness in that system 
which unites, so easily and harmoniously, opinions and 
practices which, when considered separately, appear ut- 
terly irreconcilable % Is it not strange that there has 
been all the while between these conflicting elements a 
body in which they might have been, and still may be, 

* In some Baptist Soceities it has been customary for the ministers 
and the people to bring their children before the congregation and pub- 
licly to dedicate them to God. The suggestion here made accords with 
the custom referred to, and would meet everywhere the natural wishes 
of the parent's heart. 



202 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

harmonized ; and which, too often, we confess, actuated 
by too much of the sect-spirit, has held itself too far 
aloof from them both ; and which they, under the influ- 
ence of the same sect-spirit, have mutually alike repu- 
diated ? Let us all come and reason together, not in the 
sect-spirit of opposition and contradiction, but in the 
sweet spirit of unity and love. Is not that a compre- 
hensive system which may unite both Pedobaptists and 
Baptists into one Church, allowing each to retain his 
peculiarity both of opinion and of practice ; while their 
diversities shall not only not conflict, but combine most 
naturally and effectively to sustain each other, as well 
as the one system which includes and upholds them 
both? 



SECTION XVI. 

THE SUPPER OF THE LOUD. 



The meaning of the Lord's Supper in the Protestant Episcopal Church — 
proved from standards — Qualifications for the Lord's Supper— what- 
soever may be included in a worthy discipleship of Christ — proved 
from standards — the views of the Protestant Episcopal Church com 
mend themselves to all Christian people. 

Our object in this section is concisely to explain 
what the Protestant Episcopal Church considers the 
meaning of the Lord's Supper, and the qualifications 
for it. 

It is one of the " two only " sacraments — these two 
being Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. 

1. The mecming of the Lord's Supper. — The Order 
for the Administration of the Lord's Supper or Holy 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 203 

Communion, in the Prayer Book, contains the most ex- 
tended exhibition of the sense of this sacrament ; and 
to illustrate our topic, we give a few extracts from this 
Order or Office. 

The warning or invitation, given on the Sunday or 
Holy-Day previous to its administration, commences 
thus : 

" Dearly beloved, on day next I purpose, 

through God's assistance, to administer to all such as 
shall be religiously and devoutly disposed the most 
comfortable Sacrament of the Body and Blood of 
Christ ; to be by them received in remembrance of his 
meritorious Cross and Passion ; whereby alone we ob- 
tain remission of our sins, and are made partakers of 
the kingdom of heaven." 

In the Exhortation, given at the time of its celebra- 
tion, the following passage occurs : 

" And to the end that we should always remember 
the exceeding great love of our Master and only Saviour 
Jesus Christ, thus dying for us, and the innumerable 
benefits which by his precious blood-shedding he hath 
obtained for us, he hath instituted and ordained holy 
mysteries, as pledges of his love, and for a continual 
remembrance of his death, to our great and endless 
comfort." 

The Prayer of Consecration is as follows : 

" All glory be to thee, Almighty God, our heavenly 
Father, for that thou, of thy tender mercy, didst give 
thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the 
cross for our redemption ; who made there (by his one 
oblation of himself once offered) a full, perfect, and suf- 
ficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins 



204 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

of the whole world ; and did institute, and in his holy 
Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of 
that his precious death and sacrifice until his coming 
again : For in the night in which he was betrayed * he 
took Bread ; and when he had given thanks, f he brake 
it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take eat, :f this 
is my Body, which is given for you ; do this in remem- 
brance of me. Likewise, after supper § he took the 
Cup ; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to 
them, saying, Drink ye all of this, for J this is my 
Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, 
and for many, for the remission of sins ; do this, as oft 
as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me. 

Wherefore, Lord and heavenlv Father, 

The Oblation. ' . jf ' 

according to the institution 01 thy dearly 

beloved Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, we, thy humble 
servants, do celebrate and make here before thy Divine 
Majesty, with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer 
unto thee, the memorial thy Son hath commanded us to 
make ; having in remembrance his blessed passion and 
precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious as- 
cension ; rendering unto thee most hearty thanks for 
the innumerable benefits procured unto 

The Invocation. , , , . n . , , , 

us by the same. And we most humbly 

beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us ; and, of 

thy almighty goodness, vouchsafe to bless and sanctify, 

with thy Word and Holy Spirit, these thy gifts and 

* Here the Priest is to take the Paten into his hands. 
f And here to break the Bread. 
\ And here to lay his hand upon all the Bread. 
§ Here he is to take the Cup into his hand. 

I And here he is to lay his hand upon every vessel in which there is 
any Wine to be consecrated. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 205 

creatures of bread and wine ; that we, receiving them 
according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy in- 
stitution, in remembrance of his death and passion, 
may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood. 
And we earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness, merci- 
fully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanks- 
giving ; most humbly beseeching thee to grant that, by 
the merits and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and 
through faith in his blood, we, and all thy whole 
Church, may obtain remission of our sins, and all other 
benefits of his passion. And here we offer and present 
unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls, and bodies, to 
be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee ; 
humbly beseeching thee that we, and all others who 
shall be partakers of this Holy Communion, may wor- 
thily receive the most precious Body and Blood of thy 
Son Jesus Christ, be filled with thy grace and lieavenly 
benediction, and made one body with him, that he may 
dwell in them, and they in him. And although we are 
unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto thee 
any sacrifice ; yet we beseech thee to accept this our 
bounden duty and service ; not weighing our merits, but 
pardoning our offences, through Jesus Christ our Lord ; 
by whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy 
Ghost, all honor and glory be unto thee, O Father Al- 
mighty, world without end. Amen" 

In delivering the elements, the minister first pro- 
nounces a benediction, or asks a blessing upon each 
communicant, with a special reference to that peculiar 
gift of atoning grace symbolized by the element de- 
livered, and then calls upon him to remember Christ, 
and have faith in him, and be thankful. 



206 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

" When he delivereth the Bread, he shall say, 

The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given 
for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting 
life. Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died 
for thee, and feed on him in thy heart by faith, with 
thanksgiving. 

And the Minister who delivereth the Cup shall say, 

The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed 
for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting 
life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ's Blood was 
shed for thee, and be thankful." 

The same meaning is assigned in the Church Cate- 
chism : 

" Question. Why was the Sacrament of the Lord's 
Supper ordained ? 

Answer. For the continual remembrance of the sac- 
rifice of the death of Christ, and of the benefits which 
we receive thereby. 

Question. What is the outward part or sign of the 
Lord's Supper ? 

Answer. Bread and Wine, which the Lord hath 
commanded to be received. . 

Question. What is the inward part or thing signified ? 

Answer. The Body and Blood of Christ, which are 
spiritually taken and received by the faithful in the 
Lord's Supper. 

Question. What are the benefits whereof we are 
partakers thereby ? 

Answer. The strengthening and refreshing of our 
souls by the Body and Blood of Christ, as our bodies 
are by the bread and wine." 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 207 

2. Qualifications for the Lord's Supper. — These are, 
as in all other Christian Churches, whatsoever is im- 
plied in a true discipleship of Christ — self-examination, 
repentance, faith, a deep sense of sinfulness and un- 
worthiness, humble thankfulness, charity, holiness, self- 
consecration. These qualifications are insisted on 
throughout the whole order for its administration, par- 
ticularly in the preliminary warnings and exhortations. 
One .or two extracts from this service at the time of the 
celebration of the Holy Ordinance will suffice for proof. 
In the early portion of the service, and following up 
the warnings which notify the administration, we find 
the following : 

"At the time of the Celebration of the Communion, the Priest shall 
say this Exhortation. 

Dearly beloved in the Lord, ye who mind to come 
to the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our 
Saviour Christ, must consider how St. Paul exhorteth 
all persons diligently to try and examine themselves, 
before they presume to eat of that Bread, and drink of 
that Cup. For as the benefit is great, if with a true 
penitent heart and lively faith we receive that holy 
Sacrament ; so is the danger great, if we receive the 
same unworthily. Judge therefore yourselves, brethren, 
that ye be not judged of the Lord ; repent ye truly for 
your sins past ; have a lively and steadfast faith in Christ 
our Saviour ; amend your lives, and be in perfect charity 
with all men : so shall ye be meet partakers of those 
holy mysteries. And above all things, ye must give 
most humble and hearty thanks to God, the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost, for the redemption of the 
world by the death and passion of our Saviour Christ, 



208 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

both God and man ; who did humble himself, even to 
the death npon the cross, for ns, miserable sinners, who 
lay in darkness and the shadow of death ; that he might 
make ns the children of God, and exalt ns to everlasting 
life." 

[The clause commencing " And to the end, &c," 
which belongs here, was quoted just now in explaining 
the meaning of this Sacrament. See back, on page 
203.] 

" To him, therefore, with the Father and the Holy 
Ghost, let us give (as we are most bounden) continual 
thanks ; submitting ourselves . wholly to his holy will 
and pleasure, and studying to serve him in true holi- 
ness and righteousness all the days of our life. Amen. 

Then shall the Priest say to those who come to receive the Holy 
Communion, 

Ye who do truly and earnestly repent you of your 
sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, 
and intend to lead a new life, following the command- 
ments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy 
ways ; draw near with faith, and take this holy Sacra- 
ment to your comfort ; and make your humble confes- 
sion to Almighty God, devoutly kneeling. 

Then shall this general Confession be made, by the Priest and all 
those who are minded to receive the Holy Communion, humbly kneeling. 

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
Maker of all things, Judge of all men ; we acknowledge 
and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we 
from time to time most grievously have committed, by 
thought, word, and deed, against thy Divine Majesty, 
provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 209 

us. We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for 
these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is 
grievous unto us; the burden of them is intolerable. 
Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merci- 
ful Father ; for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, 
forgive us all that is past ; and grant that we may ever 
. hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to 
the honor and glory of thy name, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. " 

Immediately before the Prayer of Consecration the 
following is introduced : 

" Then shall the Priest, kneeling down at the Lord's Table, say, in 
the name of all those who shall receive the Communion, this Prayer fol- 
lowing. 

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O 
merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in 
thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so 
much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But 
thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to 
have mercy : Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to 
eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink 
his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by 
his body, and our souls washed through his most pre- 
cious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, 
and he in us. Amen" 

The concluding clauses of the Prayer of Consecra- 
tion quoted under the former head illustrate our topic 
further. The reader is referred to them. The same 
qualifications are stated concisely in the Church Cate- 
chism : 

" Question. What is required of those who come to 
the Lord's Supper ? 



210 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 

Answer. To examine themselves, whether they re- 
pent them truly of their former sins, steadfastly purpos- 
ing to lead a new life ; have a lively faith in God's 
mercy, through Christ, with a thankful remembrance of 
his death ; and be in charity with all men." 

We might have added illustrations on both of the 
topics in this section from the Homilies, particularly 
the 27th (the 15th of the second Book), on the Holy 
Sacrament, but they are not necessary. We have pur- 
posely omitted to illustrate from the Articles of Relig- 
ion, because the Articles do not profess to go into the 
whole subject of the Lord's Supper, the standards 
quoted from and referred to above being thought suf- 
ficient. The four Articles on the Lord's Supper are 
designed simply to meet certain errors of the Church 
of Rome in relation to it. They are subjoined. 

"Art. XXVIII. Of the Lord's Stopper. —The Sup- 
per of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that 
Christians ought to have among themselves one to 
another ; but rather it is a Sacrament of our Redemp- 
tion by Christ's death : insomuch that to such as rightly, 
worthily, and with faith receive the same, the Bread 
which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ ; 
and likewise the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the 
Blood of Christ. 

Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of 
Bread and Wine) in the Supper of the Lord cannot be 
proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain 
words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacra- 
ment, and hath given occasion to many superstitions. 

The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the 
Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 211 

And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received 
and eaten in the Supper, is Faith. 

The Sacrament of the Lord's Snpper was not by 
Christ's Ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or 
worshipped. 

Art. XXIX. Of the Wicked which eat not of the 
Body of Christ in the use of the Lord's Supper. — The 
wicked and such as be void of a lively faith, although 
they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as 
St. A%igustine saith) the Sacraments of the Body and 
Blood of Christ ; yet in no wise are they partakers of 
Christ ; but rather to their condemnation do eat and 
drink the Sign or Sacrament of so great a thing. 

Art. XXX. Of loth Kinds.— -The Cup of the 
Lord is not to be denied to the Lay-people : for both 
the parts of the Lord's Sacrament, by Christ's ordinance 
and commandment, ought to be ministered to all Chris- 
tian men alike. 

Art. XXXI. Of the one OUation of Christ fin- 
ished upon the Cross. — The offering of Christ, once 
made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and sat- 
isfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both origi- 
nal and actual ; and there is none other satisfaction for 
sin, but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, 
in which it was commonly said that the Priest did offer 
Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of 
pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous 
deceits." 

The mode of admission to the Lord's Supper has 
been explained in Section YIIL, on Admission to the Sa- 
craments. The rules for dealing with unworthy com- 
municants have been shown in Section XL, on Discipline. 



212 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

It appears to us, that the views of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church on the subject of the Lord's Supper 
— its meaning, the qualifications for it, the mode of 
admission to it, and the discipline of those who are 
proved unworthy of it — are such as will commend 
themselves to the intelligent judgment and the hearty 
approval of sincere Christians, with whatever denom- 
ination they may be connected. There is nothing, at all 
events, so far as its views on the Lord's Supper are con- 
cerned, to prevent them from uniting with the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church. 



SECTION XVII. 



LITEEAEY, EDUCATIONAL, BENEVOLENT, AND MISSIONARY 
ASSOCIATIONS. 

Literary Institutions — enumeration of some — for males and females — 
two General Education Societies — various Diocesan Education Socie- 
ties — subject of education under the consideration of the General 
Convention — General Sunday-School Union — Diocesan and Local Sun- 
day-School Societies — General Theological Seminary — Diocesan Theo- 
logical Seminaries — No General Bible and Tract Societies — various 
Diocesan Bible and Tract and Common Prayer Book Societies — 
American Bible and Tract Societies — various Diocesan Benevolent 
Societies — various Diocesan Missionary Societies — City Mission So- 
cieties — the General Missionary Society — notice of its Constitution — 
great evangelical principles asserted in it — its operations — money 
collected and expended by it — its principles such as to win the assent 
of all Christians. 

In giving a view of the system of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, it is proper to notice, in passing, 
such topics as those in the title of this section. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 213 

1. There are various literary and collegiate institu- 
tions under the care of Episcopalians. 

Some of these institutions are under the charge of 
the Convention of the Diocese in which they are lo- 
cated. 

Besides these, there are very many parochial schools, 
and academies for males and for females, and boarding- 
schools, under the care of the Episcopalian clergy, or 
conducted in accordance with the principles of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church. 

2. There are various Diocesan Educational Societies 
connected with the Church in many of the Dioceses. 

There are two General Educational Societies con- 
nected with the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

The subject of the Christian education of the youth 
of both sexes in accordance with the principles of the 
Church is kept permanently in the hands of a Commit- 
tee appointed by the General Convention, which Com- 
mittee makes, once in three years, such reports to the 
General Convention as may aid them in adopting the 
best measures for promoting this great object. 

There is a General Protestant Episcopal Sunday- 
School Union, under the control of the General Con- 
vention, whose Secretary and Depository are located in 
New York City. 

There are, also, many Diocesan and City Sunday- 
School Societies. 

There is a General Theological Seminary of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, under the control of the 
General Convention, located in the city of New York. 
Its Faculty are very able, and many of the clergy of the 
Church are its graduates. 



214 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

There are, besides, sundry Diocesan Theological 
Seminaries or Schools, some of which have attained a 
wide reputation for ability and usefulness. 

3. There are no general Bible or Tract Societies of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church. The existence of the 
American Bible and Tract Societies, and of the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Bible and Tract Societies of New York, 
whose depositories are in a central point, seems to have 
rendered any general societies of this sort in the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church unnecessary. 

There are sundry Diocesan societies for the circula- 
tion of Bibles and tracts, and Common Prayer Books, 
such as the New York Bible and Common Prayer Book 
Society of New York; the Bishop White Common 
Prayer Book Society of Pennsylvania ; the Protestant 
Episcopal Tract Society of New York ; the Protestant 
Episcopal Tract Society of Virginia, &c. 

There are various Diocesan benevolent societies, such 
as those for the relief of the widows aud children of 
deceased clergymen, etc. There are numerous societies 
in almost every city and town for the aid and benefit 
of the poor, besides that the alms in the collections al- 
ways taken up at every administration of the Ploly 
Communion, in all the parishes in the land, are primarily 
and especially for the needy of the Church — the " poor 
saints," and for other poor. 

There are various benevolent institutions of other 
sorts, Diocesan and parochial, connected with the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church. 

It is to be remembered that many Episcopalians are 
connected with all the general (not denominational) be- 
nevolent societies in our country. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 215 

4. In almost all the Dioceses there are Diocesan 
missionary societies, for the prosecution of domestic 
missions within the several Dioceses. These local so- 
cieties have done much good. Probably one-sixth of 
all the Diocesan clergy of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States are supported wholly or in 
part by them. Probably seven-eighths of all the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Churches in the United States have been 
planted and sustained by them. 

There are, also, Protestant Episcopal City Missions 
sustained in several of the large cities of our country, as 
in New York, Boston, etc. 

In addition to these various Diocesan and local 
missionary societies, there is a General Missionary So- 
ciety, entitled " The Domestic and Foreign Missionary 
Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States of America." "We propose to review 
some leading principles in its Constitution. 

In the first place, this society is composed, not of 
subscribers as such, but of all the members of the 
Church, according to the 2d Article of its Constitu- 
tion : " The society shall be considered as comprehend- 
ing all persons who are members of this Church." 
The principle here asserted is new in this application 
of it. No other Church, we believe, excepting the 
Episcopal Church of the United Brethren, has ever as- 
serted it distinctly in such a connection. The theory of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, as expressed in this 
Article with authority, is — that the Church of Christ is 
itself the great Missionary Society appointed by Him- 
self ; and that every person baptized into this is, ipso 
facto, whether he acknowledges his obligation or not, a 



216 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

member of the Missionary Society. The Constitution of 
this General Missionary Society of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church is founded upon, the principle here as- 
serted. 

Again, the principle is carried out into the organiza- 
tion of the society; for, according to the 3d Article of 
the Constitution, the General Convention, " as the con- 
stituted representative body of the whole Protestant 
Episcopal Church in these United States," is the man- 
aging or executive body, which has the entire control 
of the society, and is constituted the Board of Missions 
for the society. Accordingly, at every triennial meet- 
ing, the General Convention " appoints, by a concurrent 
vote, on nomination by a joint committee of the two 
Houses, a Board of thirty members, fifteen clergymen 
and fifteen laymen, who, together with the Bishops of 
this Church, and such persons as became patrons or life 
members of this society before the meeting of the Gen- 
eral Convention in the year 1829, shall constitute the 
Board of Managers." 

To this Board of Managers, by the 4th Article, is 
intrusted the management of the General Missions of 
this Church, in cooperation with the Bishops, who are 
authorized to regulate the number of missionaries and 
stations in their respective Dioceses, to appoint the mis- 
sionaries, assign to them their stipends, etc., with the 
approval of the Board or its Committees. 

This Board, by the 4th Article, is bound to present 
a triennial report to each stated General Convention. 

This. Board of Managers, also, as soon as may be 
after it has been constituted, is, by the 5th Article, au- 
thorized to form from its own members a Committee 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 217 

for Domestic Missions and a Committee for Foreign 
Missions, and any other committees or sub-committees 
it may need. Each of these two committees consists of 
fifteen members — the Domestic of eight clergymen and 
seven laymen, the Foreign of seven clergymen and eight 
laymen. Each committee has a Bishop as its chairman. 

The present location of the Board of Managers, and 
of the two committees, is in the city of New York. 
Each committee has a secretary and general agent, with 
snch assistants as may be necessary, and each committee 
has a treasurer. 

The Board of Managers has its own By-Laws, which 
direct as to all the details of our missionary operations ; 
and it has power as to the appointment of missionary 
meetings, and the arrangements for collecting money 
for its objects. 

The Board of Managers is further authorized to pro- 
mote the formation of auxiliary missionary societies, and 
it is pledged to appropriate all moneys received accord- 
ing to the wish of the donors. 

We have thus given a brief sketch of the plan of 
this General Missionary Society. We have seen that it 
recognizes distinctly, at the very head of its Constitu- 
tion, the broad principle that the whole Church is the 
great Missionary Society ; and all its organization is in 
accordance with this principle. 

Following out its noble principle to the widest ex- 
tent of its application, it asserts, in its By-Laws, that the 
field of this society is the world, the whole world, and 
that all parts of this field have an equal claim upon the 
sympathies and exertions of the Church of Christ: 
" For the guidance of the Board, it is declared that the 
10 



218 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

missionary field is always to be regarded as one, the 
world ; the terms Domestic and Foreign being under- 
stood as terms of locality, adopted for convenience. 
Domestic missions are those which are established 
within, and Foreign missions are those which are es- 
tablished without the territory of the United States." 

The operations of this society have hitherto been 
very much blessed both in our western Territories and 
new States, and also in foreign lands. But it has been 
straitened for means. It is, however, promising to do 
more, and the plans of the society are formed in faith ; 
and it is trusted that ere long this General Missionary 
Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church will call 
out the whole strength of the Church in sustaining and 
carrying into full and triumphant effect the noble and 
truly evangelical missionary principles which are so un- 
equivocally asserted in its Constitution. 

It cannot be denied that the theory of missions, and 
the relation of the Church to this subject, declared so 
authoritatively by the General Convention, are correct. 

If the conviction of right principles and also the 
frankest acknowledgment of duty are evidences of the 
soundness and honorableness of a Church, then there is 
much in the Protestant Episcopal Church to invite to 
its unity all those, certainly, who love to own and to 
fulfil the last charge of their ascended Lord : " Go ye 
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every crea- 
ture." 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 219 



SECTION XVIII. 

LIBEETY. 

Replies to several inquiries — liberty in the Protestant Episcopal Church 
— to join voluntary and benevolent societies — to form associations for 
religious improvement — to offer extemporaneous prayers — to engage 
in social meetings for religious purposes — to make special efforts for 
the good of souls — statement of a grand principle of liberty in the 
Protestant Episcopal Church — this Church therefore dear to all 
friends of religious liberty. 

Theee are certain questions which meet Episco- 
palians continually, and which deserve to be answered 
in our present review. We have selected a few as 
specimens of the class. These we will briefly answer ; 
and then we will state the principle upon which the 
answers are rendered. 

1. Are the ministers and members of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church at liberty to join the various volun- 
tary societies for benevolent and other purposes, such 
as Bible, tract, colonization, peace, temperance, and 
other societies ? 

"We reply : They are at perfect liberty to do so ; and 
we believe distinguished members of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church are among the leading men in all 
these societies. 

2. Are the ministers and members of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church at liberty to unite themselves in lit- 
tle bands, or classes or associations, for their personal 
improvement in religious knowledge and affection — 
associations like those, for instance, in the Methodist 
societies ? 



220 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

We reply : They are at perfect liberty to do so. 
Such associations of Episcopal ministers are very com- 
mon ; and in many, probably most, Episcopal parishes, 
associations of the laity similar in many respects do 
exist, though their names may be different, such as 
leagues, brotherhoods, guilds, etc., and though they 
have no formal name by which they are distinguished. 

3. Are the ministers and members of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church ever allowed to offer extemporaneous 
prayers % 

We reply : They are at perfect liberty to do so, on 
every occasion, and in all circumstances, for which no 
regular services are provided or ordered. 

4. Are the ministers and members of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church ever allowed to engage in informal 
prayer-meetings and other social meetings for religious 
purposes ? 

We reply : They are at perfect liberty to do so ; and 
such meetings have been always more or less common. 

5. Are the ministers and members of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church ever allowed to engage in protracted 
meetings, and other special and extraordinary efforts for 
the good of souls ? 

We reply : They are at perfect liberty to do so. 
Nay, more: their Church is constructed on the prin- 
ciple that such efforts are desirable ; and it provides for 
them in a system of its own. The various festivals and 
the fasts, the season of Lent, and the solemn Passion 
and Holy weeks, all appointed by the Church, are of this 
character. So also are the various clerical associations 
and convocations. The Protestant Episcopal Church 
holds that men cannot pray too much, nor know too 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 221 

much of the Word of God, nor make too much effort for 
their own salvation and that of others. Supreme devo- 
tion is the end of all its arrangements. If the services 
of a congregation should be protracted through a year, 
or a century of years, there would be an " Order for 
Daily Morning Prayer," and an " Order for Daily Even- 
ing Prayer," and a " Table of Lessons of Holy Scripture 
to be read at Morning and Evening Prayer," provided 
by the Church, for every day in the year, or in the cen- 
tury of years, and offered to the use of that congregation. 

We have thus selected, and answered distinctly, a 
few very common and very broad questions. 

The principle upon which our replies have been 
rendered will apply to all other questions concerning 
the lawfulness of things in the Protestant Episcopal 
Church. The grand principle referred to, and which 
lies at the foundation of the system of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, is this— -perfect liberty in all things 
not defined by the positive laws which have been made 
and acknowledged by the whole Church. 

.Everything not defined by these laws is lawful; 
and the only question, in reference to any such thing, 
is this : Is it expedient ? For it is true in the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church in the United States, as it was in 
the Primitive and Apostolical Church, of which St. 
Paul wrote (1 Cor. x. 23) : "All things are lawful for 
me, but all things are not expedient : all things are law- 
ful for me, but all things edify not." 

Within this Church may not all unite, who would 
" stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made 
them free " ? 



222 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

SECTION XIX. 

ADAPTIVENESS. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church adapted to all circumstances of society, 
and all the temperaments and habitudes of men — thus proved a true 
Church — accordant with the designs of the Church — importance of 
adaptiveness — folly of establishing a Church on different principles — 
necessity of adaptiveness illustrated — the opposite of adaptiveness a 
fundamental error in sectarism — lessons from the history of the past 
— the Church may not forbid anything, and may use everything, but 
sin — objections answered — no evils resulting from adaptiveness in the 
Protestant Episcopal Church — such evils cannot exist in it — illus- 
trated — the writer's advice to his Christian brethren — a word to Epis- 
copalians — the Protestant Episcopal Church founded on the most ex- 
pansive principles. 

Under tlie principle stated in the last section, it 
will be seen, while individuals are left to the most un- 
restricted Christian liberty, the Church is, at the same 
time, made beautifully and exactly adaptive to all the 
varying circumstances of society and all the peculiar 
temperaments and habitudes of men. 

The propriety of the principle,* and the vital impor- 
tance of such adaptiveness in the system of the Church, 
will be evident, if we look for a moment at the design 
of the Church. It is intended to take in all men, in 
all places, at all times, that it may teach and bless them, 
and keep them near to the Great Head. The Church, 
in its theory, is universal. It must therefore accommo- 
date itself to all. It must be, like its ministers, "all 
things to all men, that by any means it may win some." 
The example of Christ is the rule and pattern of His 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 223 

Clmrcli ; and as He adapted Himself to all persons and 
all circumstances, so mnst His Church imitate Him. 
This adaptiveness is essential to the very idea of the 
Church ; and every Church which does not have it is 
radically, if not fatally, defective. The Church repre- 
sents the universal religion of Christ, and must there- 
fore be fitted to every class and condition and period of 
mankind. 

Now the habits and the intelligence of some com- 
munities are very different from those of others, and 
the modes of approach must be correspondingly differ- 
ent. So, too, in all communities, there is a vast diver- 
sity in the physical and moral temperaments of individ- 
uals, and the social habits and modes of intercourse of 
different classes of individuals. The Church must meet 
them all ; nay, more, she must embrace them all ; nay, she 
must even do much more, she must make use of all 
these diversities, she must employ them all as her own 
instruments (with which the God of nature has fur- 
nished her) for elevating all classes to holiness, and con- 
forming all individuals to the image of the Lord. 

It is impossible, indeed (to use the strong language 
of another on another topic), "it u treason against 
nature and treason against nature's God," to attempt 
to shape all the varieties of individual mental, moral, 
and physical character, by one exact and elaborately 
contrived standard of human rules. The attempt has 
been made often enough, and has always necessarily 
failed. It is the fundamental error in sectarism. It is 
an error into which the weakness of men is continually 
falling. It springs from that inordinate but hidden 
self-love, which causes every man to look at himself as 



224 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

the standard of perfection, to which all others must be 
made to conform. The Church which embodies this 
error into its system must be always a limited Church, 
the Church of a sect, of a class of men, not the Church 
for the world. It has in it no elements of universality. 
To illustrate : The man of intellectual and refined 
tastes, and of a sensitive and meditative temperament, 
will enjoy much the solemn and regular services of the 
public worship of the Church, as well as private and 
intimate communion with his friend on the things of 
religion. He may examine much his own heart, and 
"purify himself as He is pure," and be often in prayer. 
Yet he may not be profited by more informal and social 
and communicative assemblies. His religious sensibili- 
ties, which are of course modified by his other personal 
characteristics, might indeed be seriously injured by 
them. He might become critical and perhaps cynical ; 
at least, he would bear a burden inconsistent with his 
Christian liberty. So long as he loves and serves his 
Master, and is faithful in the discharge of the manifest 
duties of piety, it would be wrong to insist that he must 
conform to customs which are not consonant to his 
peculiar character. On the other hand, he will be no 
standard for men of a different class. H he requires 
one rule, they require another. The men of every-day 
life, common men, the great world of men for whom 
Christ died and whom Christ loves, must in their turn 
be indulged while they consult their natural predilec- 
tions. Not sensitive, not meditative, like the other, or 
at least in the same degree ; accustomed to be much 
together and to converse with unreserved freedom with 
each other upon all topics ; practical and confiding in 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 225 

all their habits ; familiar with the animated and exciting 
and discursive language of conversation, rather than the 
formal and quiet and studied language of books ; these 
men require, they must and will have, a liberty to act 
out their own religious sensibilities in their own way ; 
and if they cannot have this liberty in one Church, they 
will have it in another. 

~Now we would not legislate for this liberty. The 
very law which should grant, would limit. There is 
no law which could reach all cases in any one com- 
munity or in any one period, much less in all places 
and all ages. The proper course is, as in the system 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church (would it were bet- 
ter understood even by its own members !), to leave this 
liberty untouched, without either the condemnation or 
the justification of law. The true Church of Christ, who 
is the universal Redeemer, and whose Church repre- 
sents the universal religion, is liberal and forbearing 
with all. It is adapted to all. 

There are some lessons in the history of the past 
which apply forcibly to this subject. So long as the 
Church of Borne, even after it had lost the " harmless- 
nessness of the dove," retained the "wisdom of the 
serpent," and, instead of restricting, encouraged liberty, 
it was sustained with all its errors. "When the zeal of 
a St. Dominic, or a St. Francis, or a St. Bernard, or a 
Loyola was active and had excited powerful sympathies, 
that church, instead of opposing that zeal and those 
sympathies, employed them as its own agencies, and 
made for itself most powerful friends and supporters 
of the very classes which would have been its bitter ad- 
versaries if they had been opposed. The broad and rap- 



226 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

id stream, which flows forth, melted from nature's ice 
by the genial summer sun, or projected from the moun- 
tain by nature's volcanic fires, and which it would be 
utterly in vain to attempt to force back or to bury, may 
be easily diverted and guided in its course, and, like 
the rivers of the Orient, be made to irrigate and ferti- 
lize and bless the land. 

There is but one thing which the Church of Christ 
may at all times forbid, but one thing in the world 
which it may not under some circumstances be justified 
in using — and that one thing is sin. To fight against 
nature in all other things is to fight against God ; for 
God is in everything except sin. Rather let the 
Church, like her Divine and Almighty and All-wise 
Head, seek not to destroy or to suppress the legitimate 
workings of human nature, but to control nature ; not 
to oppose any of the legitimate operations of God's 
natural laws, but to bend them all as her own appropri- 
ate instrumentalities, given her from heaven, to the ac- 
complishment of her own heavenly purposes — the glory 
of God, and the salvation of souls. 

The characteristic of adaptiveness, whose importance 
we have been briefly illustrating, belongs to the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church ; and it is produced by the large 
liberty and toleration which are radical principles in its 
organization. 

It is well to state here, that the evils which are sup- 
posed sometimes to result from such liberty, cannot re- 
sult from it in the Church which is adapted to univer- 
sality. They result from it often in narrower sects, 
because liberty is at variance with the narrow and intol- 
erant spirit of sectarism. They cannot result from it 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 227 

iii a Church universal, for it accords exactly with the 
spirit or genius of such a Church. That which is lib- 
erty in the universal Church is but revolution or tyran- 
ny in the sect. The elasticity of an adaptive Church 
will yield, and fit it to every impression. The rigidity 
of the sect (which demands absolute unity in all things, 
and cannot yield nor bend without relinquishing its pe- 
culiarity or distinctiveness) is such, that either itself 
must be broken by the new impression, or its members 
must be all crushed by it into one mass. 

We believe that the evils referred to- cannot result 
from the most extensive toleration in the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. There are in it restraining and regu- 
lating influences always steadily and powerfully at work 
— its standards of faith, and its standards of prayer, and 
its constant lessons from the Word of God. The expe- 
rience of the past corresponds with the conclusion of 
our judgment, that no permanent nor considerable evils 
(certainly none equivalent to the evils of intolerance) 
can result from the most unrestricted exercise of that 
large liberty which the Protestant Episcopal Church 
allows to its members. We believe that this Church, 
while in its liberal system it is the encourager and patron 
of all varieties of action and effort for the promotion 
of human piety, is, at the same time, in its careful and 
scripturally defended system, the regulator and guide 
of them all. 

That evils may and do result from liberty under any 
circumstances, we grant ; but there are evils resulting 
from everything which is connected at all with the im- 
perfection and frailty of man's moral and mental nature. 
It cannot be otherwise. Still we contend that where 



228 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

there is liberty there can be no permanent evils. Such 
as may arise will be temporary ; they will cure them- 
selves ; they will be removed soon by the common sense 
and experience of men. New evils, occasional evils, 
will arise and be removed continually, while the great 
body of the Church shall be continually progressing in 
grace and happiness. It cannot be thus where there is 
intolerance. Evils, the evils which always appertain to 
things human, will in this latter case be made perma- 
nent ; and the devotions of many souls will be repressed ; 
and error will pass into malignity and heresy ; and in- 
nocent diversity of opinion or of practice will go out 
into rancorous and deadly schism. This has been the 
woful history of the Church of Christ. It takes but 
the enactment of a positive law — done in a moment of 
deliberation, or, it may be, of carelessness or of passion — 
to make a religious duty or a sin of a matter in itself in- 
different or unimportant ; and rulers, as well ecclesiasti- 
cal as civil, should beware how they exert their power. 
The great fault of ecclesiastical legislators, in all ages 
of the Church, has been in legislating too much. They 
seem to have forgotten how wide and almost boundless 
is the application of a law, though it appear to be cir- 
cumscribed ; and that even a legal license will operate 
somewhere as a legal prohibition. They seem to have 
forgotten that there are laws in nature itself and in the 
Gospel as well as in their codes of canons. The legis- 
lators of a Church ought to have faith in the common 
sense and the deliberate judgments and the sincere 
hearts of the Christian people ; they should trust much 
to the laws of experience, the laws of the human mind 
and affections ; they should have calm confidence in the 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 229 

gracious care of the Holy Spirit, the superintendence 
of the Head of the Church. They ought not to seek 
to curtail the liberty of the earnest soul in its search- 
ings after holiness and God. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church, as it now exists, 
is, in the highest sense, an adaptive Church. It is able 
to take in the countless diversities in the practice of the 
Christian community, and to hallow them all by the 
spirit of unity ; to convert them all from opponents, 
often too bitter and severe, into friendly and loving co- 
workers with each other, all in the unity of its one capa- 
cious system. We pray that the day may be forever 
removed when this Church shall be taken off from its 
present free and adaptive principles, to be placed upon 
an intolerant and sectarian foundation. And if the day 
shall come when its own members and others profess- 
ing Christianity shall understand well the adaptiveness 
of its system, then the glorious ideal of an united and 
happy Church will be realized. But never can that 
ideal be realized until these principles are acknowledged 
sincerely and in practice. 

If the writer may be indulged in offering one word 
of advice to his Christian brethren generally, he will 
say : Let the principles of a Church so free and so adap- 
tive be carried out. So long as men are willing to con- 
form to laws which respect essential duty, leave them 
in other matters to their liberty. You cannot, you 
ought not to restrict them. If men are willing to strive 
after holiness, let them do so in every way ; it is hard 
enough to be gained in any way. And be sure that 
whatsoever custom or effort will promote holiness is ac- 
cordant with the design and the system of Christ's true 



230 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

Church. Let men alone, leave them to themselves, so 
long as they are willing to come together upon the great 
essential principles on which Christ's Church is founded. 
To the Protestant Episcopalian we say : Look well 
to the system of your Church, and endeavor to catch 
its spirit of forbearance and toleration, its spirit of wis- 
dom and comprehensiveness. And remember, if ever 
you should be tempted to strive, or even to wish, to re- 
strict the Christian liberty of your brother — his liberty 
in things not essential to salvation — then you will be 
tempted to war treacherously, and in the spirit of sec- 
tarism, against the grand and glorious principles upon 
which your Church is established. 



SECTION XX. 

RELIGIOUS DEVOTION AND ACTION. 

Two tests of a Church. Religious Devotion — Formularies of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church — high spirituality — order of services — holy men of 
the Church — distinction between the system of the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church and other systems for the production of devotion. Relig- 
ious Action — variety and arrangement of evangelical subjects — in con- 
nection with liberty — and with adaptiveness — the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church the revival Church of the United States — working of the 
system — such a Church should be dear to all true Christians. 

In looking at the system of a Church as a practical 
system, there are, among others, two grand results by 
which it must be tested : first, Religious Devotion, that 
is, its capacity to improve and cultivate the piety and 
spirituality of Christ's disciples ; and next, Religious 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 231 

Action, that is, its fitness to act upon the world in con- 
verting it to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In considering these results from the system of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, we 
can only allude to them in the briefest terms. We do 
so, that the reader may follow out the subject more fully 
in his own thoughts, and in the more extensive treatises 
of others. 

I. Eeligious Devotion. — The Formularies of so- 
cial public worship, or, as the Church terms it, of com- 
mon prayer, illustrate the spiritual standard of Church- 
men.* 

* " Our Liturgy," says Bishop Newton, " was composed principally 
out of Scripture or out of ancient liturgies and fathers. Our prayers are 
addressed to the proper object through the proper Mediator : to the one 
God, through the ' one Mediator between God and man,' the man Christ 
Jesus. Each collect (prayer) begins with a solemn invocation of the one, 
and concludes with the prevailing merits and intercessions of the other. 
The variety of our service is auother excellence in the composition of it, 
and contributes much to the keeping up of our attention and devotion. 
A sameness in anything soon satiates and wearies us ; and it is as diffi- 
cult to keep the mind as it is the body long in one posture. But by the 
beautiful intermixture of prayer and praise, of supplication and thanks- 
giving, of confession and absolution, of hymns and creeds, of psalms and 
lessons (of Holy Scripture), our weariness is relieved, our attention is re- 
newed, and we are led on agreeably from one subject to another. The 
frame of our Liturgy is somewhat like the frame of the world ; it is order 
in variety, and though all the parts are different, yet the whole is con- 
sistent and regular. What renders it more excellent is its comprehensive- 
ness. There is nothing that relates either to ourselves or others, nothing 
that concerns us either as men or members of society, nothing that con- 
duces to our happiness in this world or in the world to come, but is com- 
prehended in some or other of the petitions. It is easy, while the minis- 
ter is reading it, to appropriate and apply any passage to ourselves and 
our own case. A great deal is expressed, but more is implied ; and our 
devotions in our closets, and in our families, we cannot better perhaps 



232 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

We cannot enter here into any analysis of these. 
We beg the reader to examine for himself the Book of 
Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 
the United States ; and we venture to affirm that, how- 
ever high may be his attainments in the divine life, in 

express than in the words of our Liturgy, it is so suited to all ranks and 
conditions, and adapted to all wants and occasions. The congregation 
have particular reason to be pleased, as they have a larger share in our 
service than in any other whatever ; and the minister and people mutually 
raise and inflame each other's devotions. It is a singular privilege, there- 
fore, that our people enjoy, of bearing so large a part in our service ; and 
it is this that properly denominates ours, what really none else is, a book 
(service) of common prayer.' 1 '' — Quoted in Bishop Hobarfs " Companion 
for the Book of Common Prayer" pp. 8-10. 

" I discovered in this (the Protestant Episcopal) Church, in addition 
to sound doctrine, evangelical piety, and a truly catholic spirit, the ap- 
pendages of a Liturgy which furnished the worshipper with a medium of 
prayer that was appropriate, comprehensive, and spiritual, that afforded 
security against offensive additions as well as defections and variations, 
and that established a firm bulwark against any extensive or permanent 
degeneration into heresy — a form of public worship that gave and secured 
to the Scriptures their deserved participation in the service of the sanctu- 
ary, and a discipline which a succession of ages has proved to be an 
effectual preservation of union and subordination. I was not a little con- 
firmed in my determination to make this the Church of my choice, by the 
approbation which intelligent and catholic- spirited clergymen of my for- 
mer communion awarded to the Episcopal Church ; and among them one, 
who stands second to scarcely a clergyman in the land in point of influ- 
ence, learning, and talent, assured me that, had he known as much of this 
Church when he was a candidate for the ministry as he now did, he 
should without hesitation have made his election to be an Episcopalian. 
In conclusion, I will only add that nearly fifteen years of intimate acquaint- 
ance with this Church has strengthened my bond of attachment, nor 
have I to record a single circumstance of a seriously adverse character, 
save this — that Episcopalians in general do not rise up to the lofty stand- 
ard and sublime spirituality of the Liturgy, Articles, and Discipline of their 
Apostolic Church." — Extract from a letter in the Rev. J. A. Claris " Walk 
about Zion" pp. 277, 278. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 233 

the imitation of the spirit and character of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, he will find the devotion of this volume 
still equal to him, still in advance of him.* 

* " That distinguished Methodist divine, Dr. Adam Clarke, says of the 
Liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal Church : • It is almost universally 
esteemed by the devout and pious of every denomination, and is the 
greatest effort of the Reformation, next to the translation of the Scriptures 
into the English language ; a work which all who are acquainted with it 
deem superior to everything of the kind, produced either by ancient or mod- 
ern times, and several of the prayers and services in which were in use in 
the first ages of Christianity, and many of the best of them before the 
name of Pope or Popery was known in the earth. As a form of devo- 
tion IT HAS NO EQUAL IN ANY PART OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH OF GOD. 

It is founded on those doctrines which contain the sum and essence of 
Christianity, and speaks the language of the sublimest piety, and of the 
most refined devotional feeling. Xext to the Bible, it is the book of my 

UNDERSTANDING AND OF MY HEART.' 

4 Though a Protestant Dissenter,' says the eminent Baptist minister, 
Robert Hall, speaking of the Liturgy, ' I am by no means insensible to its 
merits. I believe that the evangelical purity of its sentiments, the 

CHASTISED FERVOR OF ITS DEVOTION, AND THE MAJESTIC SIMPLICITY OF ITS 
LANGUAGE, HAVE COMBINED TO PLACE IT IN THE VERY FIRST RANK OF UNIN- 
SPIRED COMPOSITIONS.' " 

These quotations are taken from the " Churchman's Manual," an ad- 
mirable volume, by Rev. Benjamin Dorr, Rector of Christ's Church, Phil- 
adelphia, formerly of Utica, X. Y., and afterwards Secretary and General 
Agent of the Domestic Committee of the Board of Missions of the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church in the United States. The doctrines, ministry, and 
worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church are clearly and concisely 
opened and defended in this volume. Testimonies to the same effect with 
the above might be multiplied from other sources. We subjoin a single 
extract from a more partial, but very instructive and able writer : u In 
the Liturgy we have the very words in which some of the most saintly of 
men chose to breathe out their devotions. There are the prayers of such 
men as Chrysostom, Gregory, and Cranmer, with a ' noble army' of others, 
whose names are high in the estimation of every true Christian. And 
there we have the rich and heavenly spirit of the olden time — the time 
when men ' walked with God,' and earnestly contended for the faith de- 



234 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 

Not to allude to numerous arguments in proof of 
the devotional tendencies of the Formularies of the 
Church, we will allude to one only in this place — the 
order of subjects presented in the annual course of the 
Ritual. If any arrangement might inflame our love 
for our Master, and quicken us to newness of life, this 
may be depended on for the purpose.* 

livered to them. If we shall ever catch the fervor of those primitive 
days, will it not be when the incense of prayer is offered in the same 
censer of antiquity ? Blame us not, then, if we value our Liturgy. It 
embodies the anthems of saints. It thrills the heart with the dying song 
of the faithful. It is hallowed with the blood of martyrs. It glows with 
sacred fire. Long may it resound in the temples of the Crucified. Loud 
be its seraphic strains. Mighty its swelling chorus. Eternal the angelic 
hymn, Gloria in excelsis Deo, Glory be to God on high ! " — The Rev. 
William. Staunton's " Church Dictionary? " Art. Liturgy, p. 320. 

* " The whole year is distinguished into two parts : the one to com- 
memorate Christ's living here on earth, and the other to direct us to live 
after his example. For the first are all the Sundays appointed from Ad- 
vent to Trinity Sunday ; for the second, all the Sundays from Trinity to 
Advent again. And because the first part is conversant about the life 
of Christ, and the mysteries of his divine dispensation, therefore, begin- 
ning at Advent, is the memory of his incarnation celebrated ; and after 
that, his nativity ; then his circumcision ; his manifestation to the Gen- 
tiles ; his doctrine ; his miracles ; his passion ; his burial ; his resurrec- 
tion ; his sending of the Holy Ghost; all in the most perfect order: in all 
which we see the whole story and course of our Saviour in manifesting him- 
self and his divine mysteries to the world. The second part, which con- 
tains all the Sundays after Trinity till Advent, being for our guidance 
during our pilgrimage in this world, hath such Gospels in order ap- 
pointed, as may most easily and plainly lead us in the true paths of 
Christianity ; that those which are regenerated by Christ, and initiated 
into his faith, may know what virtues to follow, and what vices to eschew. 
Thus, in the first part, we are to learn the mysteries of the Christian Re- 
ligion ; and in the second, to practise that which is agreeable to the same. 
For so it behooves us, not only to know that we have no other foundation 
of our religion but Christ Jesus, born, and crucified, and risen for us ; 



THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 235 

It is proper to point to the many sincere and exem- 
plary Christians, who have been trained up under the 
influences of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as evi- 

but also to build upon this foundation such a life as he requires of us." 
—Bishop Overall, quoted in Bishop BrownelVs Family Prayer-Booh, p. 84. 

" ' While we are upon this subject, allow me to inquire,' said Mr. 

R , « upon what ground the Episcopal Church observes the Saints' 

days, and numerous other festivals, such as Christmas, etc. : the Romish 
Church, you know, makes much of these.' 

' It is true, 1 was the reply ; ' and the Romish Church also makes much 
of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. But this is no reason why we should 
reject those ordinances. The observances to which you refer we adopt 
solely on the ground of expediency. We do not think that Christ en- 
joined them, or that all Christians are bound to adopt them. In like 
manner we do not think that Christ enjoined the observance of the first 
Monday evening in each month as a season of prayer for Missions, nor 
that all Christians are necessarily bound so to observe it. But we do 
think that it is very pleasant, and proper, and profitable to spend the 
first Monday evening of each month in this way ; and that those Chris- 
tians who do so will find it truly a season of refreshing from the Lord. 
So also we think it pleasant, and proper, and profitable to observe those 
Christian festivals to which you have referred ; and that a blessing will 
not fail to rest upon those who engage in those appropriate religious 
exercises with a right spirit. No possible objection can be made to our 
observance of the Saints' days ; since we admit into the calendar the 
names of those only whose history the Holy Ghost hath recorded in the 
sacred volume for our instruction. The Church observes these days for 
the same reason that memoirs are written of good, and great, and dis- 
tinguished men. Who is there that does not regard the biography of 
such men as Payson, and Brainerd, and Martyn, and Legh Richmond, as 
a great blessing to the world ? These memoirs have done a vast deal for 
the cause of Christ. But surely Peter, and John, and Paul, in point of 
holiness and self-sacrifice, were not inferior to Payson, and Brainerd, and 
Martyn. And are not the lives of Peter, and John, and Paul, then, worth 
contemplating? Is it not proper that the ministers of the Church 
should, at least once a year, call the attention of the people to the con- 
templation of the holy lives and exalted piety of those first heralds of the 
cross, who did not count any sacrifices too great, so that they could but 



236 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

dences of the fitness of the system of this Church to 
promote spirituality.* To say nothing of " the noble 
army of martyrs " of the Protestant Reformation, the 

make known to a perishing world ' the unsearchable riches of Christ ' ? 
The other festivals and fasts to which you refer commemorate some event 
connected with the birth, life, or mediatorial work of Christ, thus furnish- 
ing a ft opportunity upon which to inculcate severally, and with increased 
effect, the great doctrines of the cross. Long experience has convinced us 
of the expediency of setting apart particular days, in which to contem- 
plate the cardinal facts connected with the history of man's redemption. 
These annual commemorations are attended with signal benefit. They 
make us more thoroughly acquainted with the prominent and most inter- 
esting Gospel facts, and impress the remembrance of them more vividly 
upon our minds. By this arrangement we are sure to have the great truths 
of salvation every year systematically brought up before us. This is a very 
important consideration. As year after year we contemplate, on Christ- 
mas, the incarnation of the Son of God, with the kindred truths that 
stand connected with it ; and on Epiphany, his manifestation to the Gen- 
tiles, and are thus led to pray over a dying world, that 'the heathen may 
be given to him for an inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for 
his possession ; ' then on Good Friday, as we contemplate his bitter suffer- 
ings and death ; on Easter, his resurrection from the tomb ; on Ascension 
day, his ascent from the top of Olivet to ' the right hand of God, where he 
ever liveth to make intercession for us ; ' on Whitsunday, the descent of 
the Holy Spirit to revive, refresh, enlighten, and sanctify our hearts ; and 
finally, on Trinity Sunday, the sublime and glorious mystery of the ' three 
that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, 
which three are one ;' — I say, as from year to year particular days bring 
up the consideration of these great fundamental truths, we find our faith 
invigorated, our love to the Redeemer increased, our knowledge enlarged, and 
our souls refreshed.'' " — Walk about Sion, pp. 318-321. 

* " And here we must not omit to mention the obligations which all 
Protestant Churches are under to the learned and pious members of our 
communion. For the translation of the Scriptures now in common use 
we are indebted to Episcopalians. This ' most wonderful and incompara- 
ble work ' was the joint labor of the most distinguished divines of the 
English Church. That Church, too, has ever been considered as ' the 
bulwark of the Reformation.' The first martyr to that glorious cause 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 237 

mention of such names as Walton, and Ken, and Her- 
bert, and Hooker, and Leighton, and Yenn, and New- 
ton, and Simeon, and the "Wesleys, and Whitfield (for 

was Rogers, an Episcopal divine ; and after him, Craniner, and Latimer, 
and Ridley, and Hooper — all of them bishops distinguished for piety and 
learning — were called upon to lay down their lives in defence of the same 
holy principles. Of divines of later days, who have come forth in defence 
of the doctrines and institutions of our Church, we might name a Jewell, 
a Burnet, a Barrow, a Bull, a Taylor, a Pearson, a Chillingworth, a War- 
burton, and a Horsley ; and we might well say in respect of them : ' There 
were giants in the earth in those days.' But the time would fail us to 
tell of her Tillotsons, and her Leightons, her Halls, and her Wilsons ; or 
to speak of Usher, and Stanhope, and Stillingfleet, and Jones, and Seeker, 
and Porteus, and Butler, and Paley, and Magee, and Home ; men whose 
praise is in all the Churches. 

Of illustrious laymen, we can boast of a Locke, a Boyle, a Sir Isaac 
Newton, an Addison, and a Johnson, a Lord Littleton, a Sir William 
Jones, a Lord Chief Justice Hale — and, in our own country, a Washing- 
ton, a John Jay, a Chief Justice Marshall ; men distinguished not less for 
their piety and virtue than for their preeminent talents ; men ' whose 
lives and writings will continue to enlighten and improve mankind so 
long as the art of printing shall perpetuate them.' And surely these 
men of mighty minds, who applied their utmost powers to the investiga- 
tion of religious truth, may well serve to strengthen our confidence in 
the purity and soundness of a Church to which they were the ornament 
and support, and in the communion of which they lived and died. 

Of laborers in the missionary field, who have taken their fives in their 
hand, and gone forth with apostolic zeal to preach the Gospel to every 
creature, what names stand higher than Swartz, and Middleton, and 
Heber, and Henry Martyn ? 

As writers of practical devotion, who are more read than Thomas 
Scott, and John Newton, and Legh Richmond, and William Wilberforce, 
and Hannah More ? 

Or "where will you look for works of more fervent piety — works that 
have been oftener blessed to the conversion of sinners, and the instruc- 
tion and comfort of Christians — than Law's 'Serious Call,' Beveridge's 
'Private Thoughts,' Scott's 'Christian Life,' Sherlock on 'Death and 
Judgment,' Wilson's ' Private Meditations,' Nelson's ' Practice of True 



238 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

these last were taught their devotion in the Church), 
and Heber, and Martyn, and Buchanan, and Thomason, 
and Pattison, and, in our own land, of the venerable 
White, and of Hobart, and Eavenscroft, and Bedell, 
will furnish a sufficient illustration. 

We have spoken of religious devotion, as distinct 
from religious action; and the distinction is manifest. 
]STow we contend that the system of worship in the non- 
Episcopal churches of our country is not adapted to 
foster devotion ; and the devotion felt in the hearts of 
the members of these churches (and there is much of it, 
be it spoken to their praise) is attributable to other 
causes not provided in their regular ecclesiastical sys- 
tems. And the system of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church is contradistinguished from these other systems 
by the fact that it provides directly for the furtherance 
of devotion, and that this result, so far as it has been 
accomplished among the Episcopalians of our country, 
is owing manifestly to the working of the system, even 
in the face of powerful counteracting causes connected 
with, the history and progress of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church in the United States. The tendency of 
other systems, while they allow religious action, is, in 
connection with the spirit of the age, to discourage, or 
at least restrain unduly, religious devotion. The system 

Devotion,' and Bishop Taylor's ' Holy Living and Holy Dying ' ? Very 
many other works of a kindred spirit and character, to be found in the 
closet and sick-room of almost every Christian, of every name and na- 
tion, might be mentioned ; but they will readily occur to every pious 
reader's mind. 

These are indeed the precious fruits of piety, born, nourished, and per- 
fected — so far as anything human can be perfect-^— in the Episcopal 
Churchy — Dorr's Churchman's Manual, pp. 2*78-280. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 239 

of the Protestant Episcopal Church provides especially 
for the increase of devotion, while at the same time it 
furnishes to its members every encouragement to the 
most energetic action. We are only able here to hint 
at the distinction above stated. The point to which we 
call attention is this — that the system of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church nourishes religious devotion.* 

We will now consider the other topic. 

II. Religious Action. — The reader is requested to 
bear in mind what was said in the last two sections on 
the liberty and adaptiveness of the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church. Let him consider those characteristics, as 
therein exemplified, in connection with the stated and 
elevated devotional arrangements of the Church; and 
he will perceive that there is the largest scope and en- 
couragement for religious action. Indeed, the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church is, in its system, the Revival 
Church of our country. 

Look at the variety, and at the same time the unity 
or harmony, of evangelical subjects continually presented 
in the annual course of the Ritual — Ascension, and 
Whitsunday, and Trinity, and Christmas, and Epiphany, 
and Lent, and the solemn Passion Week, wherein, in 
daily services (what would be called, in the language of 
the time, an annual protracted meeting), we contem- 
plate the tenderness and love, the sufferings, the judi- 

* A pious and intelligent minister of a non-Episcopal denomination once 
said to the writer substantially as follows : " The reason why so many 
in the professedly religious community are not disposed to approve, or 
do not like to attend, your Church service, is that your service is too 
devotional ; the present is an undevotional age." He is in the main cor- 
rect. There ought to be over all our land more of heart-worship, as 
wtII as intellectual and personal activity. 



240 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

cial trials, the bloody sweat, and the crucifixion and 
burial of our Lord ; and finally, the glorious Easter, the 
festival of the Resurrection of Christ ; and how much 
there is continually presented to quicken the pious and 
convert the careless ! Look, then, at the liberty of the 
Church, which allows the employment of so many and 
various cooperant instrumentalities to arouse and edify. 
And look at the adaptiveness of the Church, which car- 
ries it and its Gospel message to every class, and condi- 
tion, and age, and to every heart. It is manifest that 
here is a system formed, which needs only to be used to 
effect unrivalled results for the honor of the Master. 
There is no ecclesiastical system extant which in itself 
provides legitimately and directly for a constant and 
orderly succession of revivals over the whole country 
except this. Individuals and many societies of other 
denominations have been active in revivals, under some 
special or occasional arrangements ; but the Protestant 
Episcopal Church is preeminently and singularly, in 
its system, the Eevival Chtjech of the United States.* 

* There is a passage in one of the writings of the Rev. Albert Barnes, 
the distinguished Presbyterian clergyman of Philadelphia, suggested by 
the above observations, which we cannot forbear to quote. It will be 
found in the concluding paragraphs of what Bishop Onderdonk, of Penn- 
sylvania, has called " a truly elegant and courteous tribute to the Epis- 
copal Church — a truly splendid eulogium on our Church — and one which 
does credit to the candor, the benevolence, the superiority to prejudice, 
of the elevated mind that conceived it, and the honorable frankness 
which gave it public utterance." The whole eulogium is as follows : 
"We associate it (Episcopacy) with the brightest and happiest days of 
religion, and liberty, and literature, and law. We remember that it was 
under the Episcopacy that the Church in England took its firm stand 
against the Papacy ; and that this was its form when Zion rose to light 
and splendor, from the dark night of ages. We remember the name of 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 241 

The actual working of the system, where it has been 
faithfully carried out, agrees with oar statements. 

There are scores of Protestant Episcopal Churches 
in our country which have for years been blessed with 
a continual revival of religion, and in which hardly a 
month elapses without some new accessions to the list 
of the confirmed and of the communicants. And each 

Cranmer — Cranmer, first, in many respects, among the Reformers ; that 
it was by his steady and unerring hand that, under God, the pure Church 
of the Saviour was conducted through the agitating and distressing times 
of Henry VIII. We remember that God watched over that wonderful 
man ; that he gave this distinguished prelate access to the heart of one 
of the most capricious, cruel, inexorable, bloodthirsty, and licentious 
monarchs that has disgraced the world ; that God, for the sake of Cran- 
mer and his Church, conducted Henry, as ' by a hook in the nose/ and 
made him faithful to the Archbishop of Canterbury, when faithful to none 
else ; so that, perhaps, the only redeeming trait in the character of Henry 
is his fidelity to this first British prelate under the Reformation. The 
world will not soon forget the names of Latimer, and Ridley, and Ro- 
gers, and Bradford ; names associated, in the feelings of Christians, with 
the long list of ancient confessors * of whom the world was not worthy,' 
and who did honor to entire ages of mankind, by sealing their attach- 
ment to the Son of God on the rack, or amid the flames. Nor can we 
forget that we owe to Episcopacy that which fills our minds with grat- 
itude and praise, when we look for examples of consecrated talent, and 
elegant literature, and humble devoted piety. While men honor elevated 
Christian feeling, while they revere sound learning, while they render 
tribute to clear and profound reasoning, they will not forget the names 
of Barrow and Taylor, of Tillotson, and Hooker, and Butler ; and when 
they think of humble, pure, sweet, heavenly piety, their minds will recur 
instinctively to the name of Leighton. Such names, with a host of 
others, do honor to the world. When we think of them, we have it not 
in our hearts to utter one word against a Church which has thus done 
honor to our race, and to our common Christianity. 

Such we wish Episcopacy still to be. We have always thought that 
there are Christian minds and hearts that would find more edification in 
the forms of worship in that Church than in any other. We regard it as 

11 



242 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

successive year is developing more clearly and encour- 
agingly this peculiar tendency of the system. 

It is our purpose to be concise. "We leave it to our 
Christian brethren, whether or not they can agree to 
love and to sustain such a Church as has been here de- 
scribed. 

adapted to call forth Christian energy, that might otherwise be dormant. 

We have never doubted that many of the purest flames of 

devotion that rise from the earth ascend from the altars of the Episcopal 
Church, and that many of the purest spirits that the earth contains min- 
ister at those altars, or breathe forth their prayers and praises in language 
consecrated by the use of piety for centuries. 

We have but one wish in regard to Episcopacy We wish 

her to fall in with, or to go iu advance of, others, in the spirit of the age. 
Our desire is that she may become throughout — as we rejoice she is in- 
creasingly becoming — the warm, devoted friend of revivals and mission- 
ary operations. She is consolidated, well marshalled, under an efficient 
system of laws, and preeminently fitted for powerful action in the field 
of Christian warfare. We desire to see her, what the Macedonian pha- 
lanx was in the ancient army — with her dense, solid organization, with 
her unity of movement, with her power of maintaining the position which 
she takes, and with her eminent ability to advance the cause of sacred 
learning, and the love of order and of law, attending or leading all other 
churches in the conquests of redemption in an alienated world. We 
would even rejoice to see her who was first in the field at the Reforma- 
tion in England first, also, in the field when the Son of God shall come 
to take to himself his great power ; and whatever positions may be as- 
signed to other denominations, we have no .doubt that the Episcopal 
Church is destined yet to be, throughout, the warm friend of revivals, 
and to consecrate her wealth and power to the work of making a per- 
petual aggression on the territories of sin and of death." — Christian 
Spectator, Vol. VI. See also " Episcopacy Examined and Reexamined" 
New York, Protestant Episcopal Tract Society, pp. 89-91. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 243 



SECTION XXI. 

COMPREHENSIVE TRAITS. 

If the Protestant Episcopal Church be the Comprehensive Church, it be- 
comes the privilege if not the duty of all Christians to unite them- 
selves with it — extent of this duty — a recapitulation of the various 
comprehensive traits elucidated in the preceding sections — the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church proved to be the Comprehensive Church — 
the only Church founded successfully and completely upon the maxim 
of the primitive and Apostolical Church — there are few even of its 
own members who understand its comprehensiveness — this Church 
not originated by human wisdom or accident — it is a system provided 
by the gracious providence of the Lord for the Christian and eccle- 
siastical unity of all His disciples. 

We hold it to be an axiom that, if the Protestant 
Episcopal Chnrch be the Comprehensive Church — that 
is, if it have within its system all the particulars which 
are held essential, not only by all Christian denomina- 
tions jointly, but also by each distinctively — and if 
there be no other system in our country equally com- 
prehensive, then it is, if not the hounden duty, certainly 
the privilege of all Christians who love their Lord, and 
wish to keep His commandment of unity, to unite 
themselves at once, even if it oe at some personal sac- 
rifice, with it. 

And one or both of two things is required of every 
one who would, with a good conscience, avoid uniting 
himself with this Church : either he must disprove what 
we have just laid down as an axiom, that is, disprove 
the importance of obeying his Lord's command, when 
he has it in his power to do so ; or else he must prove 



244 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

that the Protestant Episcopal Church is not the Com- 
prehensive Church. 

It will not be enough for an objector even to prove 
that he is in a Church which has a valid ministry and 
valid sacraments, and with which he himself is perfectly 
satisfied. He must prove that his Church is compre- 
hensive, and capable of receiving all sincere disciples of 
his Lord, whatever their diversities of opinion and cus- 
toms ; or else his Church has not the characteristics of 
Christ's one Church adapted to all His disciples ; and 
he is therefore bound to leave it as a defective and so 
far a corrupted Church, if indeed he may find the one 
comprehensive system elsewhere. 

In summing up the characteristics of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, we shall merely recapitulate some of 
the main thoughts suggested in the preceding sections. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States, while it is historically at unity with the ancient 
and Apostolical Church, is, at the same time, purely an 
American Church, and therefore is entitled to the sym- 
pathies of all American Christians. 

Its members are classed necessarily just as they are 
in every Protestant Church ; and this fact recommends 
it to the members of all other churches as a medium of 
unity, having in this particular a quality common to 
them all. 

Its territorial divisions, while prepared for its uni- 
versal extension, are yet perfectly simple, and afford 
the most desirable facilities for the external union of all 
Christians. 

Its laws and government are such that every one of 
its members is represented in them, and has a power of 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 245 

control over tliem ; and they are constituted upon such 
equitable and truly republican principles, as to endear 
the Church to every Christian who loves the free and 
righteous principles upon which our political institutions 
are ordered. 

Its ministry is such that every conceivable and useful 
mode of clerical influence may be exerted ; while every 
minister, in every degree, is directly responsible to the 
Church for his faithfulness and obedience to its laws. 
Its ministry meets exactly the wishes of every true 
Christian in our land. 

Its sacraments are free to all true disciples of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, without regard to their differences 
in the interpretation of difficult passages of Scripture or 
in their abstract systems of theological and philosophical 
doctrine. In this fact it welcomes all to one communion 
and fellowship. 

Its standards, although explicit, are never oppres- 
sive; and its doctrines and preaching are Scriptural 
and practical ; so that on these subjects its system tends 
to concord. 

Its discipline is severe against manifest sin, but it 
is patient toward human infirmity, " loving mercy and 
not sacrifice," " desiring not the death of the sinner, but 
rather that the sinner turn unto God and be saved ; " 
so that in this it is sure of the approval of all who are 
like their Father in Heaven, and who have the meek- 
ness and gentleness of His only Son. 

Its modes of public worship, while they seek to en- 
courage solemnity and the spirit of devotion and pray- 
er, are yet always accommodated to the spiritual wants 
and the Christian judgment of its members ; so that all 



246 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

Christians, who unite themselves with it, do have it in 
their power to worship God according to the dictates 
of their own consciences, and the necessities of their 
own hearts. 

Its laity are fully and effectually represented in all 
the regulations and action of the Church, and have not 
only every right which they have in other Churches, 
but also, in some very important respects, more rights, 
and always the power of self -protection. In this par- 
ticular, therefore, the Church may expect the favor of 
all Christian laymen in our country. 

Its arrangements concerning Baptism, and its con- 
nection of the Kite of Confirmation with that ordi- 
nance, furnish, what in no other Church has been done, 
the means of uniting on a basis of harmony all Chris- 
tian people, who in other denominations are so widely 
at variance on this theme of the subjects and mode of 
Baptism. 

Its views of the Lord's Supper agree, substantially, 
with those of other orthodox and catholic communions, 
while its terms of admission are more liberal than 
those of most others ; and thus it is able to combine and 
associate them all around one table of mutual charity. 

It furnishes opportunities for the exercise of every 
benevolent affection ; it cultivates literature and labors 
for Christian education ; and it is pledged wholly and 
without reserve to the work of missions in all the 
earth ; so that all Christians must admire its singleness 
and honest devotion, who love to labor for the good 
of men, and to fulfil the last charge of the ascended 
Lord. 

It tolerates all the modes through which the piety 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 247 

of the heart would find outward expression; and it 
invites to its protection every variety of temperament 
and habit ; so that all may join themselves unto it, who 
take delight in the worship of God. It has forms, but 
it is not tied to forms. Outside of its prescribed rules 
for special occasions, it invites to every variety of 
Christian worship, and every method of Christian ac- 
tivity. It is like a broad country, through which, 
among a hundred other roads, a railroad runs. If you 
get into the cars, you must, while you are in them, ride 
upon the rails. But off from the railroad you may go 
as you please, in carriages or on foot, and indulge in all 
the privileges of a free and law-abiding citizen. 

Finally, it is capable of modifying itself, in any and 
in every possible respect, to the circumstances of society 
and the wants of men, in all periods of time ; so that it 
is able to unite all Christians into one body, and to be 
the Church of the world. 

Now we inquire : Is not the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States entitled peculiarly to the 
name of the Comprehensive Church ? Are not all the 
essentials of a Church within it, and all the essentials 
for Christian and ecclesiastical unity ? 

The writer will be pardoned if he ventures the re- 
mark that, of all the ecclesiastical systems which the 
history of the past and of the present has brought under 
his notice, there is none which, in the principles of its 
organization, has carried out the maxim upon which the 
Primitive and Apostolical Church was organized, as 
alluded to in our first chapter, so fearlessly and so suc- 
cessfully as that which it has been the design of the 
foregoing sections to illustrate. 



248 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

Thanks to the superintending Spirit and Providence 
of God! 

And alas ! that so few, even of Episcopalians, do 
understand the occasion for this thanksgiving ! 

We further inquire : Was it the mere wisdom of 
men, or were they mere circumstantial and happy acci- 
dents, which have fashioned and matured this Compre- 
hensive System? Neither, we reply. It is not a 
scheme devised or got up recently, for the purpose of 
gathering Christians from their divisions into fellowship 
and cooperation. It is simply the old historic Church, 
holding, and conveying from age to age, the apostolic 
idea of Catholicity and Comprehension. Rather, is it 
not the provision of the All-seeing and Gracious Head 
of the Church, for bringing together again into " One 
Body " His scattered and divided disciples, when they 
shall have learned the evils and the distresses of dissen- 
sion, and the importance of His own new command- 
ment : " Love one another," and " Be one " % 



CHAPTER X. 

Conclusion — mode in which our subject has been treated — the Protestant 
Episcopal Church comprehensive — none other like it — another aspect 
of this Church — enumeration of certain principles preliminary to the 
exhibition of it — the Protestant Episcopal Church a platform on 
which Christians may meet and perfect a plan of unity — this proved 
— the means of unity are provided if Christians will use them — the 
Protestant Episcopal Church capable of infinite modification — invites 
all Christians to unite in it and modify it as they please — objection 
answered — the system of the Protestant Episcopal Church further 
opened — a beautiful and grand scheme — sin of negligence on this 
subject — a call to unity — deprecation of false unity — advantages of 
true unity — call upon the laity — call upon the clergy— our plan sub- 
mitted to the candid judgment and honest decision of the Christian 
public. 

We have been looking at the system of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church as it is. We have desired to 
divest ourselves of all the associations of the past, as we 
have desired our readers to do ; and have looked at this 
Church as an existing system, just as we should look at 
it if it had been broached for the first time in the 
course of the present year, or as though we were sug- 
gesting in these pages the outline of a new Ecclesiasti- 
cal Scheme of Union, as though we were proposing a 
new organization for the promotion of Christian unity. 

We inquire now respectfully : Are not the elements 
of concord in this Church? Are not those points, 



250 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

which are held chiefly important by the several denomi- 
nations of Christians in our country, all included already 
in the system of this Church ? Does not this Church 
blend into one harmonious arrangement the "distinc- 
tive peculiarities " of the several denominations among 
us ? We ask our readers : Can you not recognize in 
this Church, distinctly maintained, the very points to 
which you, as members of some particular denomina- 
tions, have respectively given chief prominence 1 Can 
you find similar characteristics in any other of the nu- 
merous models of the Church which have been con- 
structed by the wisdom of those who at any time have 
separated from the one old Church to form new 
Churches ? 

Answer us in the spirit of meek and self-denying 
disciples of Him, who . prayed for you and for us in 
these words : " Holy Father, I pray that they all may 
be one, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent 
Me." 

There is, however, another aspect of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, to which your attention is solicited. 

In order to present clearly the aspect referred to, 
the reader must be reminded of one or two preliminary 
principles. These principles are the following: That 
Christians wish to be united ; that they must be united 
in some one Comprehensive Church ; that, in order to 
be thus united, they must come together on some com- 
mon platform, where they may discuss their differences, 
and compare opinions, and suggest reciprocal compro- 
mises, and finally agree upon some scheme of unity, to 
which all shall be pledged to adhere ; that when they 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 251 

shall have finally agreed upon such scheme of unity, 
they must make further arrangements, by which they 
may come together at stated periods, perhaps year after 
year, continually, and change and modify that scheme 
(still maintaining unity) to meet the various changes 
and modifications of human society. 

These principles being acknowledged correct, we 
say that, if they were carried out (as they ought to 
be), they would eventuate in the construction of exactly 
such a system as that of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
— the scheme of unity would be the counterpart of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church. This is the other aspect 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church to which we just 
now alluded. 

Granting, for the occasion, that the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church is not now in every respect just the 
system which the several denominations when united 
might desire, it is, nevertheless, exactly the platform 
upon which they all may meet and arrange such a sys- 
tem as they would desire. It is the living agent, which 
will, at their bidding, work out for them precisely their 
ideal of unity. It is a beautiful and perfect organum 
(to many doubtless a novum organum in this applica- 
tion of it) wKose machinery can accomplish any result. 
Let them put their hand to its machinery, let them 
enter the building which encloses it, and whose doors 
are thrown wide open and nailed back so that they can- 
not close again, and there let them superintend and 
guide its operations, and they may have whatsoever 
product they may please to have. 

We refer now to the general principles of Ecclesias- 
tical Government unfolded in the last chapter. Let all 



252 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

the parishes — the newly formed as well as the others — 
elect men who shall represent their views to the Dio- 
cesan Conventions, where are free discussions and fair 
decisions. Let the Diocesan Conventions look to it that 
their own views are correctly represented in the General 
Convention. Majorities govern — majorities in the par- 
ishes, in the Diocesan Conventions, in the General Con- 
vention — majorities of the whole Church— majorities 
of the Laity, of the Clergy, of the Bishops. When 
such majorities wish for change, it is right that changes 
occur. Until they do, it is wise, and the secret of unity, 
that the minority forbear. 

Is it not manifest that, if the Christian people of our 
land wish to unite into some comprehensive scheme of 
ecclesiastical unity (without which there can be no true 
Christian union), they can accomplish their object, quiet- 
ly, and certainly, and immediately, by uniting themselves 
with the Protestant Episcopal Church? Are not in- 
strumentalities here supplied to their hands, by which 
they may triumphantly effect their wish ? 

We say then to our fellow-Christians in the several 
denominations : " Cast in your lot with us." We will 
welcome you to our unity. We do not invite you to a 
Church in which you must be cramped and straitened 
incessantly, but to a pliant Church— # Church capable 
of infinite modification. We are willing to amalgamate 
with you; only let the wounds of Christ's body be 
healed, only let us become one. You may outnumber 
us ; you may have the control in our parishes, in our 
Diocesan Conventions, in our General Convention. 
You may revise and rearrange our laws. Be it so ! 
We are willing to be melted down with you, in our 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 253 

own crucible, into one mass of Christian love and fel- 
lowship. Is this the language of a narrow, and arbi- 
trary, and intolerant bigotry? Is the Church, whose 
entrance is so wide, and which is willing to be moulded 
by any influence you may exert, sectarian or contracted 
in its spirit ? Is it not fitted for universality, which is 
the collateral principal with unity ? Like some spacious 
and noble ship, she can take in all who would trust her 
decks, or be entertained in her various saloons, while 
she ever moves hither and thither, true to the slightest 
motions of her helm, and while her broad canvas swells 
at the pressure of the faintest breeze, and hurries her 
still forward. 

If it should seem to any that, in representing the 
system of the Protestant Episcopal Church as has been 
done, we expose a weak point in its organization, we 
develop a liberality which is suicidal, we show it to be 
in the power of others to modify it until its essential 
idea shall be destroyed, our reply is ready : That which 
seems to be the point of its weakness is the very hinge 
of its strength ; the apparent defect is, on closer exami- 
nation, the real beauty. The system is one of checks 
and balances, not artificial but natural, and therefore 
invariable in their operation. The door which admits 
one man of a certain class of predilections, admits with 
him another man of perhaps opposite predilections ; 
and these men must harmonize. Each must deny him- 
self a little, that both may have the greater liberty ; and 
these men, who, if they had remained in opposite sects, 
would have been bitter adversaries, become, in the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, brothers. So would it 
be in any event. 



254 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

Such is our confidence in the adaptation of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church to the common wants of 
the many, that we should not fear any essential change 
in its system from any accession of numbers. In fact, 
every accession of numbers would confirm the system 
and make it more tenacious, just as an increase of 
weight gives stability to the mechanical arch. We are 
confident that, if all the members of all the denomina- 
tions in our land should unite with the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church to-morrow, although there might be a 
thousand changes in the minute details of the system 
(as now such are constantly occurring), yet there would 
be no change of any of its essential features. It is a 
grand scheme, the result not of a single intellect nor of 
a single age, but combining the conclusions of countless 
minds, and framed upon the experience of many ages, 
and based upon the philosophy of the universal heart. 

We can conceive of but one mode of parrying the 
application of the argument. There may be multitudes 
who will say : " After all, it is no matter about this out- 
ward unity; we may as well continue separate, and 
strive each to do what he can for the glory of God and 
the salvation of souls." But, brethren, why work at a 
disadvantage so great, so entirely unnecessary, so uncon- 
querably full of evil ? How long shall Christians de- 
clare, in the face of all Scripture, in the face of all ex- 
perience, in the face of all true philosophy of the mind 
and heart, in the face of all nature : " Let us have the 
internal unity, it is no matter about the outward" — 
when, all the while, it is absolutely impossible that the 
two can be separated? We will not recapitulate our 
reasonings in the early chapters of this volume ; but we 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 255 

will press their conclusions. If it is no matter about 
this outward unity, then it is no matter about the inter- 
nal ; then it is no matter about the honor of the Church 
in the eyes of the profane, and the impenitent, and the 
careless, and the unthoughtful ; then it is no matter 
whether Christians shall ever love each other in a per- 
fect reciprocal confidence, without concealment and 
without reserve — whether they shall ever work to- 
gether for Christ without molestation and with their 
utmost energies — whether they shall ever rejoice over 
the conversion of the nations, and join their hosannas 
on earth with the " great voices in heaven, saying, The 
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever 
and ever." 

We call for Christian unity, without which there 
can never be a millennium of peace and holiness on 
earth — without which the Lord Jesus can never estab- 
lish his kingdom among men. 

We call not for that Christian union which flares up 
into life, and dies in some brilliant paragraph of a re- 
ligious-literary journal; or which shows itself like a 
sprite, and vanishes in the dazzling appeal of some fine 
orator on the stage of some great benevolent society. 
We ask not for that Christian union which flows so 
softly from the lips of men who never think of any- 
thing beyond the narrow limits of their own narrow 
sect ; nor for that which is breathed forth so faintly by 
good and holy men, who long for peace, yet know that 
the peace which their lips speak of is a very different 
thing from the actual strifes which are wearying their 
hearts. 



256 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

We call for actual Christian union, in which the dis- 
sensions which part brethren shall be done away; in 
which the causes of contention shall be removed; in 
which the plottings and counter-plottings, the preju- 
dices and hard speeches, the suspicions and intolerance, 
which distract the family of the Redeemer, shall be 
destroyed. We ask for Christian union which shall be 
not sentimental, but real ; not visionary, but existing ; 
not in words or wishes, but in fact. We ask not for 
a shadow, but for a substance ; not for a creature of 
dreams, however lovely, but for a being of flesh and 
blood, who shall be an every-day companion. We ask 
for the "one body," that so we may have the "one 
spirit and the one Lord, the one faith and the one 
baptism, and the one God and Father of all, who is over 
all, and through all, and in us all." We want one holy 
Church, visible and tangible, fitted for the period in 
which we live ; so that the soldiers of Emmanuel shall 
no more be compelled to act as spies upon each other, 
and to waste their energies in internal and self-destruc- 
tive conflicts, but rather shall present one undivided 
front, and have unweakened courage in their grand 
" aggressive attack " upon sin, whether at home or 
abroad. 

We call for a true Christian unity, which shall ex- 
pand itself through our land ; which shall go into all 
the little villages, and all the private dwellings, over 
the whole length and breadth of our long and our 
broad country, and unite hearts, and unite voices, and 
unite labor, and strength, and wealth, that have always 
before been separated— ^which shall bring into one Com- 
prehensive Church all the disciples of Christ. 



THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 257 

Then our villages will be gardens of God, which are 
now wrangling-places. Then plain men and learned 
men together will give np their jealousies and conten- 
tions, and with these their nnhappiness ; and men will 
be able to think about Christ and souls and the world. 
Then the multitudes, who have hitherto excused them- 
selves from their duty behind the dissensions of Chris- 
tians, will be left without excuse, or will take up the 
exclamation of the worldly in the days of Tertullian : 
"See how these Christians love one another." Then 
shall we " all be one, and the world will believe on the 
Son of God." 

Our call is upon the Christian people of our land. 

We call upon the Laity, in every class and condition 
of Christian society, to consider this subject ; to decide 
upon duty ; and to act promptly, as reasonable and as 
responsible men. 

We call upon the Clergy, and especially those among 
them who fill the high places of influence and of au- 
thority. We entreat you patiently and candidly to 
investigate this subject. Let it be canvassed fully in 
your public prints. Let it be the topic of agitation, or 
at least of discussion, in your large assemblies. We pray 
you to come yourselves, and to bring with you those 
whom you may lawfully influence, into the unity of one 
happy fold of the chief Shepherd. We will sit down 
with you most gladly in our earliest Conventions, and, 
in all our deliberations, our motto shall be : Compromise 
and Conformity, Liberty and Law, Universality and 
Unity. 

The subject is momentously serious. It demands 
action as well as consideration. "Let no one," we 



258 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

quote from our title-page — " Let no one excuse or de- 
ceive or console himself by pertinacious disputatious- 
ness : for our treatise is concerning life and salvation." 
There may be some who will esteem our Call pre- 
posterous, and smile at our Plan. But let no Christian 
esteem our Call preposterous before he has solemnly, 
with prayer and in honesty, determined his duty in 
reference to it. And let no Christian smile at our Plan 
until he has proved it to be impracticable. 



APPENDIX 



"O ALMIGHTY GOD, WHO HAST BUILT THY CHUECH UPON THE 
FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PEOPHETS, JESUS CHEIST HIM- 
SELF BEING THE CHIEF COENEE-STONE ; GEANT THAT, BY THE 
OPEEATION OF THE HOLY GHOST, ALL CHEISTIANS MAY BE SO 
JOINED TOGETHEE IN UNITY OF SPIEIT,* AND IN THE BOND OF 
PEACE, THAT THEY MAY BE AN HOLY TEMPLE ACCEPTABLE UNTO 
THEE, THEOUGn JESUS CHEIST OUE LOED." 

Book of Common Prayer, 
Collect for the Institution of Ministers, and also for the 
Festival of St. Simon and St. Jude. 



APPENDIX 



A. 

Origin and Organization of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church in the United States. Extracted 
from "Memoirs of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States," etc., by the late 
Bishop White, of Pennsylvania. Pp. 17-30. 

Although it happened, as might be expected, that a propor- 
tion of the settlers of English America were of the profession 
established in England, yet the number was not so considerable 
as might be supposed from the existing relation, owing probably 
to the circumstance that several of the colonies arose in a great 
measure from dissatisfaction with the establishment at home, and 
partly to an influx of subsequent settlers, not only from other 
countries subject to the same crown, but also from countries on 
the continent of Europe, principally some of the states of Ger- 
many. In the Northern and Eastern States the comparatively 
small number of the Church of England may be seen in the fact 
that, when the revolutionary war began, there were not more 
than about eighty parochial clergymen of that Church to the 
northward and to the eastward of Maryland; and that those 
clergymen derived the greater part of their subsistence from the 
Society, instituted in England, for the Propagation of the Gospel 
in Foreign Parts — with the exception of those resident in the 



262 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

towns of Boston and Newport, and the cities of New York and 
Philadelphia — there being no Episcopal congregations ont of those 
towns and cities held to be of ability to support clergymen of 
themselves. In Maryland and in Virginia the Episcopal Church 
was much more numerous, and had legal establishments for its 
support. It was especially numerous in those parts of the said 
provinces which were settled when the establishments took place ; 
for in the more recently settled counties the mass of the people 
were of other communions, scarcely known among them in the 
early period of their histories. In the more southern colonies, 
the Episcopalians were fewer in proportion than in the two last 
mentioned, but more than in the northern. 

The peculiar circumstances under which it existed prevented, 
and probably, under the old regime, would have continued to pre- 
vent, its organization. Separated by the Atlantic Ocean from the 
Episcopacy under which it had been planted, it had no resource 
for a ministry but in emigration from the mother country, and 
by sending its candidates for the ministry to that country for 
orders. The first could not be the channel of a respectable per- 
manent supply; and the second, which was the most depended 
on in the latter years of the colonies, was very troublesome and 
expensive. The evil of the want of an internal Episcopacy did 
not end here. For, although the Bishop of London was consid- 
ered as the diocesan of the Episcopal Churches in America, it is 
evident that his authority could not be effectually exerted at such 
a distance for the removing of unworthy clergymen ; besides 
which, there were civil institutions supposed to be in opposition 
to it in the provinces where establishments had been provided. 
In Maryland, in particular, all interference of the Bishop of Lon- 
don, except in the single matter of ordination, was held dj the 
proprietary government to be an encroachment on its author- 
ities. 

For these reasons, and on the ground of the evident propriety 
of being supplied with all the orders of the ministry recognized 
by their ecclesiastical system, application had been made to 
England at different times by the clergy, especially those in the 
northern colonies, for the obtaining of an Episcopate. These 



APPENDIX A. 263 

applications had produced nmch contention in pamphlets and in 
newspapers. What would have been the event, in this respect, 
had the Episcopal clergy succeeded in their desires, is a problem 
which it will be forever impossible to solve. 

If such was the difficulty of being supplied with a ministry 
during the acknowledged supremacy of the British crown, much 
greater, as may be supposed, was the same difficulty during the 
struggle which ended in the elevating of the colonies to the rank 
of independent states. During that term there was no resource 
for the supply of vacancies, which were continually multiplying, 
not only from death but by the retreat of very many of the Epis- 
copal clergy to the mother country, and to the colonies still 
dependent on her. To add to the evil, many able and worthy 
ministers, cherishing their allegiance to the king of Great Brit- 
ain, and entertaining conscientious scruples against the use of the 
liturgy, under the restriction of omitting the appointed prayers 
for him, ceased to officiate. Owing to these circumstances, the 
doors of the far greater number of the Episcopal churches were 
closed for several years. In the State in which this work is 
edited (Pennsylvania), there was a part of that time in which 
there was, through the whole extent, but one resident minister 
of the Church in question, he (Bishop White) who records the 
fact. 

The first step toward the forming of a collective body of the 
Episcopal Church in the United States was taken at a meeting 
for another purpose of a few clergymen of New York, New 
Jersey, and Pennsylvania, at Brunswick, in New Jersey, on the 
13th and 14th of May, 1784. These clergymen, in consequence 
of prior correspondence, had met for the purpose of consulting 
in what way to renew a society that had existed under charters 
of incorporation from the Governors of the said three States, for 
the Support of Widows and Children of Deceased Clergymen. 
Here it was determined to procure a larger meeting on the 5th 
of the ensuing October, in New York, not only for the purpose 
of reviving the said charitable institution, but to confer and agree 
on some general principles of an union of the Episcopal Church 
throughout the States. 



264 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHUKCH. 

Such a meeting was held at the time and place agreed on ; 
and, although the members composing it were not vested with 
powers adequate to the present exigencies of the Church, they 
happily, and with great unanimity, laid down a few general prin- 
ciples, to be recommended in the respective States, as the ground 
on which a future ecclesiastical government should be established. 
These principles were approbatory of Episcopacy and of the 
"Book of Common Prayer," and provided for a representative 
body of the Church, consisting of clergy and laity, who were to 
vote as distinct orders. There was also a recommendation to the 
Church in the several States, to send clerical and lay deputies to 
a meeting to be held in Philadelphia, on the 27th of September, 
in the following year. 

Although, at the meeting last held, there were present two 
clergymen from the Eastern States, yet it now appeared that there 
was no probability, for the present, of the aid of the Churches in 
those States in the measures begun for the obtaining of a repre- 
sentative body of the Church at large. From this they thought 
themselves restrained in Connecticut, in particular, by a step they 
had antecedently taken for the obtaining of an Episcopate from 
England ; for, until the event of their application could be known, 
it naturally seemed to them inconsistent to do anything which 
might change the ground on which the gentleman of their choice 
was then standing. This gentleman was the Eev. Samuel Sea- 
bury, D. D., formerly missionary on Staten Island, who had been 
recommended to England for consecration before the evacuation 
of New York by the British army. 

On the 27th of September, 1785, there assembled agreeably to 
appointment, in Philadelphia, a convention of clerical and lay 
deputies from seven of the thirteen United States, viz., from 
New York to Virginia, inclusive, with the addition of South Caro- 
lina. They applied themselves to the making of such alterations 
in the "Book of Common Prayer" as were necessary for the 
accommodating of it to the late changes in the state ; and the 
proposing, but not establishing, of such other alterations in that 
book and in the Articles, as they thought an improvement of the 
service and of the manner of stating the principal articles of faith. 



APPENDIX A. 265 

These were published in a book, ever since known by the name of 
the "Proposed Book." 

The convention entered on the business of the Episcopacy 
with a knowledge that there was now a bishop in Connecticut, 
consecrated, not in England, but by the non-juring bishops of 
Scotland ; for Dr. Seabury, not meeting assurance of success with 
the bishops of the former country, had applied to the latter quar- 
ter for the succession, which had been there carefully maintained, 
notwithstanding their severance from the state in the revolution 
of 1688. Bishop Seabury had returned to America, and had en- 
tered on the exercise of his new function in the beginning of the 
preceding summer, and two or three gentlemen of the Southern 
States had received ordination from his hands. Nevertheless the 
members of this convention, although generally impressed with 
sentiments of respect toward the new bishop, and although, with 
the exception of a few, alleging nothing against the validity of 
his Episcopacy, thought it most proper to direct their views in 
the first instance toward England. 

Accordingly, they addressed the archbishops and bishops of 
England, stating that the Episcopal Church in the United States 
had been severed, by a civil revolution, from the jurisdiction of 
the parent Church in England; acknowledging the favors for- 
merly received from the bishops of London in particular, and from 
the archbishops and bishops in general, through the medium of 
the Society for Propagating the Gospel ; declaring their desire to 
perpetuate among them the principles of the Church of England, 
in doctrine, discipline, and worship ; and praying that their lord- 
ships would consecrate to the Episcopacy those persons who 
should be sent, with that view, from the Churches in any of the 
States respectively. 

In order that the present convention might be succeeded by 
bodies of the like description, they framed an ecclesiastical con- 
stitution, the outlines of which were that there should be a trien- 
nial convention, consisting of a deputation from the Church in 
each State of not more than four clergymen and as many laymen ; 
that they should vote statewise, each order to have a negative on 
the other ; that when there should be a bishop in any State, he 

12 



266 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

should be officially a member of the convention ; that the differ- 
ent orders of clergy should be accountable to the ecclesiastical 
authority in the State only to which they should respectively be- 
long; and that the engagement previous to ordination shonld be 
a declaration of belief in the Holy Scriptures, and a promise of 
conformity to the doctrines and the worship of the Church. 

Further, the convention appointed a committee with various 
powers, among which was that of corresponding, during the 
recess, with the archbishops and bishops of England ; and they 
adjourned to meet again in Philadelphia, on the 20th of June, in 
the following year. 

After the rising of the convention, their address to the Eng- 
lish prelates was forwarded by the committee to his Excellency 
John Adams, Esq., the American minister, with the request that 
it might be delivered by him to his Grace the Archbishop of Can- 
terbury. There were also forwarded certificates from the execu- 
tives of the States in which there was a probability of there being 
bishops chosen. The executives who gave these certificates were 
those of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. These 
evidences, agreeably to instructions of the convention, were ap- 
plied for by the members of that body from the said States respect- 
ively. Mr. Adams willingly performed the service solicited of 
him, and in a conversation which he held with the Archbishop 
of Canterbury, on the subject of the address, gave such informa- 
tion and expressed such sentiments as were calculated to promote 
the object of it. 

After the receipt of the first of the letters of the English pre- 
lates, and before the receipt of the second, the General Conven- 
tion assembled agreeably to appointment, in Philadelphia, on the 
20th of June, 1786. The principal business transacted by them 
was another address to the English prelates, containing an ac- 
knowledgment of their friendly and affectionate letter, a declara- 
tion of not intending to depart from the doctrines of the English 
Church, and a determination of making no further alterations 
than such as either arose from a change of circumstances, or 
appeared conducive to union, and a repetition of the prayer for 
the succession of the Episcopacy. Before their adjournment they 



APPENDIX A. 267 

appointed a committee with power to reassemble them, if thought 
expedient, at Wilmington, in the State of Delaware. 

On the committee's receipt of the second letter they summoned 
the convention to meet, at the place appointed, on the 10th of 
October following. 

The deputies from the several States were called on, beginning 
from the northward, for information whether any persons had 
been chosen in them respectively to proceed to England for con- 
secration ; when it appeared that the Rev. Samuel Provoost, D. D., 
rector of Trinity Church, in the city of New York, had been 
chosen for that purpose by the convention in that State ; that the 
Rev. William White, D. D., rector of Christ Church and St. Pe- 
ter's, in the city of Philadelphia, had been chosen by the con- 
vention in Pennsylvania ; and that the Rev. David Griffith, D. D., 
rector of Fairfax parish, Virginia, had been chosen by the con- 
vention there. Testimonials in their favor from the conventions 
in the respective States, agreeable to the form prescribed by the 
archbishops, were laid before the General Convention, who im- 
mediately signed, in favor of each of the bishops elect, a testi- 
monial, according to the form prescribed to them by the same 
authority. 

The two former of the above-named clergymen, having em- 
barked together early in the next month, arrived at Falmouth 
after a passage of eighteen days. On their reaching London they 
were introduced to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, by 
his Excellency Mr. Adams, who, in this particular, and in every 
instance in which his personal attentions could be either of use 
or an evidence of his respect and kindness, continued to manifest 
his concern for the interests of a Church of which he was not 
a member. 

Before the accomplishing of the object of the voyage, there 
occurred the delay of a few w T eeks, owing to the archbishop's 
desire of previously laying before the bishops the grounds of his 
proceeding to the accomplishment of the business, in the early 
stages of which they had been consulted. The greater number 
of them were at their dioceses, but were expected to be in town 
at the ensuing opening of Parliament, appointed for about the 



268 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

middle of January. Very soon afterward, the 4th of February, 
was appointed for the consecration. 

On that day, and in the chapel of the archiepiscopal palace of 
Lambeth, Dr. White and Dr. Provoost were ordained and con- 
secrated bishops, by the Most Eev. John Moore, Archbishop of 
Canterbury. The Most Kev. William Markham, Archbishop of 
York, presented. And the bishops who joined with the two 
archbishops in the imposition of hands were the Eight Eev. 
Charles Moss, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and the Eight Eev. John 
Hinchliff, Bishop of Peterborough. Before the end of the same 
month the newly-consecrated bishops sailed from Falmouth for 
New York, where they arrived on Easter Sunday, April the 7th, 
and soon afterward began the exercise of the Episcopacy in their 
respective dioceses. 

On the 28th of July, 1789, there assembled the Triennial Con- 
vention, by whom the Episcopacy of Bishops White and Pro- 
voost, of whom the former only was present, the latter being 
detained by sickness, was duly recognized. At this convention 
there naturally occurred the importance of taking measures for 
the perpetuating of the succession, a matter which some circum- 
stances had subjected to considerable difficulty. The subject of 
perpetuating the succession from England, with the relation which 
it bore to the question of embracing that from the Scotch Epis- 
copacy, was brought into view by a' measure of the clergy in 
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. This body had elected the 
Eev. Edward Bass, rector of St. Paul's Church in Newburyport, 
their bishop, and had addressed a letter to the bishops in Con- 
necticut, New York, and Pennsylvania, praying them to unite in 
consecrating him. 

And here it may be proper to record that the difficulty was 
not long after removed in another way by the convention of Vir- 
ginia, in their electing of the Eev. James Madison, D. D., Presi- 
dent of William and Mary College, Williamsburg, their bishop, 
and by his being consecrated in England. 

At the present session of the General Convention, the consti- 
tution formed in 1786 was reviewed and new modelled. The prin- 
cipal feature now given to it was a distribution into two houses, 



APPENDIX A. 269 

one consisting of the bishops and the other of the clerical and lay- 
deputies, who must vote, when required by the clerical or by the 
lay representation from any State, as under the former constitu- 
tion, by orders. The stated meetings were to be on the second 
Tuesday in September in every third year, but intermediate meet- 
ings might be called by the bishops. 

"When the convention adjourned, it was to the 29th of Septem- 
ber following ; and before the adjournment, an invitation was 
given by them to Bishop Seabury, and to their brethren generally 
in the Eastern States, to be present at the proposed session, with 
a view to a permanent union. 

On that day the convention reassembled, when it appeared 
that Bishop Seabury, with sundry of the clergy from Massachu- 
setts and Connecticut, had accepted the invitation given them. 
There was laid before the convention, and by them ordered to be 
recorded, evidence of that bishop's consecration, which had been 
performed by Bishops Kilgour, Petrie, and Skinner, of the non- 
juring Church in Scotland. There then ensued a conference be- 
tween a committee of the convention and the clergy from the 
Eastern States, the result of which was that, after one alteration 
of the constitution at their desire, they declared their acquiescence 
in it, and gave it their signatures accordingly. 

It had been provided in the constitution that the arrangement 
of two houses should take place as soon as three bishops should 
belong to the body. This circumstance now occurred, although 
there were present only two of them, who accordingly formed 
the House of Bishops. 

The two houses entered on a review of the liturgy, the bishops 
originating alterations in some services, and the House of Cler- 
ical and Lay Deputies proposing others. The result was the 
"Book of Common Prayer," as then established, and as it has 
been ever since used. 

Some canons had been passed in the preceding session ; but 
they were reconsidered and passed with sundry others, which 
continue to this day substantially the same, but with some alter- 
ations and additions by succeeding conventions. 

The next Triennial Convention was held in the city of New 



270 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

York, in the autumn of 1792, at which were present the four 
bishops already mentioned to have been consecrated abroad. 
Hitherto there had been no consecration in America ; but at this 
convention, although nothing further was brought before them 
from Massachusetts relative to Dr. Bass, the deputies from Mary- 
land applied to the assembled bishops for the consecration of the 
Rev. Thomas John Olaggett, D. D., who had been elected bishop 
by the convention of that State. Dr. Claggett was accordingly 
consecrated, during the session of the convention, in Trinity 
Church, of the city in which they were assembled. 

The bishops, having reviewed the Ordinal of the Church of 
England, proposed a few alterations in it to the House of Clerical 
and Lay Deputies, principally such as were necessary for the 
accommodating of it to local circumstances. The Ordinal, thus 
reviewed, is now the established form for the consecrating of 
bishops and the ordaining of priests and deacons. 



B. 



Primitive Church Government. JEktr acted from Wad- 
dingtorfs Church History, Harper's edition, chapter 2, 
section 2, pp. 41-44. 

Church Government. "We must now proceed to examine the 
discipline and government of the primitive Church, and, in this 
inquiry, we shall discover no marks of a loose and passing super- 
stition, but, on the contrary, the surest prognostics of vigor and 
immortality. There are many reasons which make it necessary, 
in the treatment of this subject, to distinguish clearly between 
what is historically known, and what is plausibly conjectured; 
for it is from the confusion of facts with probabilities, that most 
of the difficulties of this question have arisen. In the first place, 
it is certain that, from the moment in which the early churches 
attained a definite shape and consistency, and assumed a perma- 



APPENDIX B. 271 

nent form of discipline ; as soon as the death of the last of the 
Apostles had deprived them of the more immediate guidance of 
the Holy Spirit, and left them, under God's especial care and 
providence, to the uninspired direction of mere men; so soon had 
every Church, respecting which we possess any distinct informa- 
tion, adopted the Episcopal form of government. The probable 
nature of that government we shall describe presently; but here 
it is sufficient to mention the undisputed fact, that the religious 
communities of the Christian world universally admitted the su- 
perintendence of ministers, called bishops, before the conclusion 
of the first century. In the next place, it is equally true, that nei- 
ther our Saviour nor his Apostles have left any express and posi- 
tive ordinances for the administration of the Church ; desiring, 
perhaps, that that which was intended for every age and condition 
of man, to be the associate and guardian of every form of civil 
government, should have the means of accommodating its exter- 
nal and earthly shape to the various modifications of human polity. 
It is also true that, in the earliest government of the first Chris- 
tian society, that of Jerusalem, not the elders only, but the " whole 
Church," were associated with the Apostles ; and it is even cer- 
tain that the terms bishop and elder or presbyter were, in the 
first instance, and for a short period, sometimes used synony- 
mously, and indiscriminately applied to the same order in the 
ministry. From the comparison of these facts, it seems natural 
to draw the following conclusions : that during the life-time of 
the Apostles they were themselves the directors, or at least the 
presidents, of the Church ; that as long as they remained on earth, 
it was not necessary, in all cases, to subject the infant societies to 
the delegated authority of a single superintendent, though the in- 
stances of Titus and Timothy clearly prove that it was sometimes 
done ; and that, as they were severally removed from the world, 
some distinguished brother was in each instance appointed to suc- 
ceed, not indeed to the name and inspiration, but to the ecclesias- 
tical duties of the blessed Teacher who had founded the Church. 
The concurrence of ancient records confirms this last conclusion ; 
the earliest Church historians enumerate the first bishops of the 
Churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Smyrna, Alexandria, 



272 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

and Koine, and trace them in each case from the Apostles. And 
thus it came to pass that, for more than twenty years before the 
death of St. John, most of the considerable Churches had gradu- 
ally fallen under the presidency of a single person entitled Bishop ; 
and that, after that event, there were certainly none which did 
not speedily follow the same name and system of administration. 

Prophets. Again, for the first thirty years, perhaps somewhat 
longer, after the ascension of Christ, the labors of the Apostles 
were aided by certain ministers entitled Prophets, who were 
gifted with occasional inspiration, and taught under the influence 
of the Holy Spirit. This order of teachers was withdrawn from 
the Church when their office became no longer necessary for its 
advancement, and it appears wholly to have ceased before the end 
of the century; at which period, as we have already observed, 
ecclesiastical government universally assumed that durable shape 
which has been perpetuated, and, with certain variations, gener- 
ally adopted through every age of Christianity. 

Beacons. We have yet made no mention of the deacons, who 
were the third order in the Episcopal Church. The word dea- 
con means minister, and in that sense is sometimes applied to 
the office of the Apostles; but in a general sense only, since we 
are assured (Acts vi.) that the diaconal order was distinct, and 
instituted for a specific purpose. However, it seems certain that, 
in the very beginning, the office of the deacons was not confined 
to the mere ministry of the table, since we read that Stephen dis- 
puted publicly on the Christian truth, with irresistible wisdom 
and spirit; and, moreover, that "he did great wonders and mira- 
cles among the people." It is equally clear that attendance on the 
poor was for several centuries attached to it ; even after the office 
of treasurer was held by the bishop, the portion destined to chari- 
table relief continued to pass through the hands of the deacon. It 
is not so easy to ascertain the extent of their spiritual duties in the 
earliest Church. Ignatius speaks of them with high respect, and 
in one place calls them "ministers of the mysteries of Christ." 
Tertullian distinguishes them from the laity, together with bish- 
ops and presbyters. Cyprian asserts that the Apostles appointed 
them as "ministers of their episcopacy and Church." By the 



APPENDIX B. 



273 



Nicene Council they are designated as servants of the bishop. It 
is certain that they were ordained by the bishop alone, without 
any imposition of hands by presbyters; that in some Churches 
they were admitted to read the gospel, and that they universally 
assisted in the distribution of the Eucharist, without any share 
in its consecration. Their early acknowledgment as members of 
the ministry is proved by their occasional presence in the original 
synods of the clergy. 

Clergy and Laity. The origin of the distinction between the 
clergy and the laity has given rise to much controversy. Bingham 
is of opinion that it was derived from the Jewish into the Christian 
Church in its earliest days. And Clemens Alexandrinus has ex- 
pressly declared that " St. John, after his return from Patmos, 
ordained bishops, and appointed such men for clerical ministers 
as were signified by the Holy Spirit." If the persons here men- 
tioned were actually set apart and consecrated to the ministry, the 
reality as well as the name of the distinction might with greater 
assurance plead apostolic authority ; but this does not positively 
appear. On the other hand, the separation of the sacred order is 
so commonly mentioned by the early Fathers, not by Cyprian 
only, but by his predecessors Tertullian and Origen, and so inva- 
riably treated as a necessary part of the Christian system, that if 
its origin was not coeval with the foundation of the system, it was 
at least unrecorded and immemorial. The fairest supposition re- 
specting this question appears to be, that the Jirst converts, those 
who spread the earliest tidings of redemption before the Apostles 
themselves had quitted Judea, were commissioned to preach the 
name and diffuse the knowledge of Christ indiscriminately. But 
it seems equally certain that this, commission was of very short 
duration ; and that as soon as in any place converts were found 
sufficient to form a society or church, a bishop or presbyter was 
ordained for life to minister to them. The act of ordination es- 
tablished the distinction of which we are treating. 

According to the earliest form of Episcopal government, it 
would appear that the bishop possessed little, if any, power in 
matters of discipline, except with the consent of the council of 
presbyters ; that the council possessed no sort of power except in 



274 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

conjunction with him ; and that, in affairs strictly spiritual, as the 
ordination of the inferior clergy, and the administration of the 
sacraments, especially that of baptism, he acted, as some think, 
with original, and certainly with independent, authority. His 
office was for life, and the funds of the society were committed to 
his care and dispensation. Of most of the apostolic churches, the 
first bishops were appointed by the Apostles ; of those not apostol- 
ical, the first presidents were probably the missionaries who 
founded them ; but, on their death, the choice of a successor de- 
volved on the members of the society. In this election, the people 
had an equal share with the presbyters and inferior clergy, with- 
out exception or distinction ; and it is clear that their right in this 
matter was not barely testimonial, but judicial and elective. This 
appointment was final, requiring no confirmation from the civil 
power or any superior prelate ; and thus, in the management of 
its internal affairs, every church was essentially independent of 
every other. 

The Churches, thus constituted and regulated, formed a sort of 
federative body of independent religious communities, dispersed 
through the greater part of the empire, in continual communica- 
tion, and in constant harmony with each other. It is toward the 
middle of the second century that the first change is perhaps per- 
ceptible : as the numbers of the believers and the limits of the 
faith were extended, some diversities in doctrine or discipline would 
naturally grow up, which it was not found easy to reconcile ex- 
cept by some description of general assembly. Accordingly we 
find the first instances of such assemblies (unless that which was 
summoned by the Apostles may be so called) at this period. 
They were composed either of the bishops only or of these asso- 
ciated with a party of the priesthood ; those ministers presented 
themselves as the representatives of their respective societies; nor 
was any superiority claimed by any of them in virtue of the sup- 
posed preeminence of particular Churches. These councils were 
called by the Greek name, Synods, and seem at first to have been 
provincial, following in some manner the political division of the 
empire. They had their origin in Greece — the land of public 
assemblies and popular institutions, of which the memory was 



APPENDIX C. 275 

fondly cherished there, after the reality had been lost in Roman 
despotism. Their character was essentially popular ; the repre- 
sentatives of equal Churches, elected to their sacred offices by the 
whole body over which they presided, assembled to deliberate as 
equals; and we may reasonably indulge the belief, since the ex- 
ertion of freedom in any one direction makes it more ready to 
act in every other, that the political emancipation of mankind was 
promoted, even thus early, by the free and advancing spirit of 
Christianity. 

Such were the principles on which the affairs of the Churches 
were conducted for some time after the period mentioned by us ; 
and none can be conceived more favorable to the progress of the 
faith. The government of a single person protected each society 
from internal dissension ; the electiveness of that governor render- 
ed probable his merit ; the meeting together of the deputies of the 
Churches in occasional assemblies, on equal terms, taught the 
scattered members of the faith that they were animated by one 
soul, and informed and dignified by one spirit. 



C. 



History of the Articles of Religion of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church in the United States. 
Extracted from the " Memoir of the Life of Bishop 
White," by the Hen. Bird Wilson, D. D., Professor 
of Systematic Divinity in the General Theological 
Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Pp. 
143-152. 

Of the Articles of Religion. In the " Proposed Book," the 
articles were reduced in number to twenty. These were regarded 
by the English bishops as containing the essential principles of the 
Gospel; and no objection was made to them, except to that rela- 
ting to the creeds as already mentioned. But they never received 



276 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

the sanction of the Church. "While they were under considera- 
tion in the convention, Dr. White manifested his anxiety to pre- 
vent the use of any language having a tendency, even though only 
apparent, to oppose the great doctrine that salvation is of mere 
grace. The article on justification, as proposed in the report of 
the suh-committee, was objected to by him and Dr. Griffith. It 
was at last withdrawn, and the eleventh article of the Church of 
England inserted. Their objection to the proposed article " was 
its being liable to a construction contrary to the great evangelical 
truth that salvation is of grace. It would have been a forced con- 
struction, but not to be disregarded." At that time he was de- 
sirous that the article on predestination " should be accommodated 
not to individual condition, and to everlasting reward and pun- 
ishment, but to national designation, and to a state of covenant 
with God in the present life." The language proposed by him, 
and inserted by the convention of Pennsylvania, in their instruc- 
tions to their deputies in the General Convention in 1786, was: 
"Predestination is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (be- 
fore the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly 
decreed, by his counsel, to admit to the inestimable privileges of 
the Gospel dispensation all those Gentiles, as well as Jews, who 
should believe in his Son Jesus Christ ; they, through grace, obey 
the calling of God ; they be justified freely ; they be made sons of 
God by adoption ; they be made like the image of his only begot- 
ten Son Jesus Christ ; they walk religiously in good works ; and 
at length, by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity." 
This view of the subject he always continued to entertain ; but 
was afterward " convinced, that the introducing of it as an article 
would have engendered needless controversy on the meanings of 
the terms predestination and election, as used in the New Testa- 
ment. If we cannot do away the ground of controversy hereto- 
fore laid, it at least becomes us to avoid the furnishing of new 
matter for the excitement of it." Had articles been afterward 
framed anew, he would, without doubt, have advocated the entire 
omission of the subject. 

The thirty-nine articles of the Church of England, with the 
exception of the political parts abrogated by the Revolution, were 



APPENDIX C. . 277 

still the acknowledged faith of this Church, even before they were 
sanctioned by any resolution of the convention. But without 
some modifications in their language, and in the manner in which 
they should be set forth, they could not, with propriety, be pub- 
lished as her confession of faith. They were long under the con- 
sideration of the General Convention. 

In the early periods of the discussion there was much differ- 
ence of sentiment, on the expediency of having articles of religion 
at all. Bishop Madison gave his opinion against them altogether, 
on the principles of the Confessional and the like books ; and 
Bishop Provoost, as Dr. White always supposed, did not materi- 
ally differ from him, but, being in the presidential chair at the 
time of the discussion in his presence, did not deliver his senti- 
ments. Bishop Seabury at first expressed in conversation a doubt 
whether it were expedient to have any; thinking that all neces- 
sary doctrine should be comprehended in the liturgy, by which 
the object of articles might be accomplished. But afterward he 
saw so clearly the inconveniences likely to result from the want 
of an authoritative form of public confession, that he wished to 
adopt one, and, as was understood, the code of the thirty-nine 
articles. Bishop Claggett was in favor of them. Bishop White 
u professed himself an advocate for articles; the abolishing of 
which would, he thought, only leave with every pastor of a con- 
gregation the right of judging of orthodoxy according to his dis- 
cretion or his prejudices ; while the articles determine that matter 
by a rule, issuing from the public authority of the Church." 

In 1789 the bishops proposed a ratification of the thirty-nine 
articles, with an exception in regard to the thirty-sixth and thirty- 
seventh; but, with their concurrence, the subject was referred, in 
the House of Deputies, to a future convention. In 1792 the 
bishops were ready to undertake the review of them; but as the 
churches in some of the States were not represented in that con- 
vention, and others only partially, the subject was postponed by 
the House of Deputies. For similar reasons, it was again post- 
poned by the convention of 1795, on the proposal of the bishops. 
At the next convention, in 1799, it was brought before the House 
of Deputies, which " resolved itself into a committee of the whole, 



278 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

to take into consideration the propriety of framing articles of re- 
ligion." The committee of the whole reported to the house a 
resolution, " that the articles of our faith and religion, as founded 
on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, are suffi- 
ciently declared in our creeds and liturgy, as set forth, in the Book 
of Common Prayer established for the use of this Church ; and 
that further articles do not appear necessary." But this was 
negatived in the house ; and a committee was subsequently ap- 
pointed to frame articles. They reported seventeen. But the 
House of Deputies resolved that, on account of the advanced 
period of the session, and the thinness of the convention, the con- 
sideration of them should be postponed; and that the secretary 
should transcribe the articles into the journal, to lie over for the 
consideration of the next General Convention. On this publica- 
tion of the proposed articles in the journal, Dr. White remarks, 
that " the bishops had no opportunity of expressing their sense 
on the question of publishing the draft of articles which it (the 
journal) contains. Such a publication was certainly very inju- 
dicious ; if for no other reason, because it might have been ex- 
pected to be easily mistaken for the sense of at least one of the 
houses of the convention. Indeed, it was so misunderstood, 
whereas it was the sense of a committee only ; not an individual 
besides having delivered in his place any opinion on any article. 
But this was not the worst. It tended to excite religious acrimony, 
without any possible good effect at the present ; and with the 
probable bad effect of the greater acrimony, on an opportunity of 
settlement in future." He disapproves of the application of the 
term "priesthood," in one of the articles, "to denote all the 
orders of the Christian ministry, and not confined to the order 
of presbyters, as in the established ordinal; of the former of 
which there is no example in the institutions of the Church of 
England." And he adds: " It is not here designed to charge any 
other fault on the articles proposed. They are, in substance, 
what is contained in the thirty-nine articles, without any super- 
addition, except in the particular stated. But the remarks may 
serve to show that, in the work of clearing that code of what may 
be thought unnecessary positions, there is danger of admitting 



APPENDIX c. 279 

some novelty, more fruitful of controversy than what may be done 
away. In the present instance, the novelty introduced is sus- 
ceptible of the construction of obtruding on the Church the no- 
tions of ' sacrifice ' in the strict and proper sense ; of ' altar ' as 
the place of it; and of 'priest/ as the sacrificer." 

The articles were at length reviewed and established by a res- 
olution of the two houses, in 1801. As the subject had been so 
frequently before them, and in various forms, the fullest oppor- 
tunity had been given to ascertain the sentiments of the Church 
at large, and to adopt deliberately the most judicious determina- 
tion. "As to repeated discussions and propositions, it had been 
found that the doctrines of the Gospel, as they stand in the thirty- 
nine articles of the Church of England, with the exception of such 
matters as are local, were more likely to give general satisfaction 
than the same doctrine in any new form that might be devised. 
The former were therefore adopted by the two houses of conven- 
tion, without their altering of even the obsolete diction in them ; 
but with notices of such changes as change of situation had ren- 
dered necessary. Exclusively of such, there is one exception — 
that of adopting the article concerning the creeds, to the formal 
exclusion of the Athanasian." By the form of the resolution of 
the two houses, the previous obligation of the articles, as a pro- 
fession of religious faith, is impliedly recognized; the language 
being, " The articles of religion are hereby ordered to be set forth, 
with the following directions to be observed in all future editions 
of the same ;" and again : u The articles to stand as in the Book of 
Common Prayer of the Church of England, with the following 
alterations and omissions." 

The reasons for adhering to the thirty-nine articles, in prefer- 
ence to forming new ones, are thus stated by Dr. White : " When 
the question has been put, whether the thirty-nine articles are 
the best rule that can be devised, the author has answered that 
he thought them better than any other likely to be obtained under 
present circumstances. Conventional business is too much hur- 
ried, and the members of the conventions are not sufficiently re- 
tired from other avocations, for the entering on determinations of 
this magnitude. Even if the greater number of the body should 



280 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

be conceded to be sufficiently learned for the work, ecclesiastical 
legislation has not been of sufficiently long standing in this Church 
to have established the characters of those who exercise it, as to 
this point, in the estimation of the world. Until such a character 
shall be established, a few obstinate or factious men will overset, 
in their respective congregations, what shall have been enacted in 
convention. Besides, many persons among the laity, and some 
even among the clergy, had declared their determination to abide 
by the articles at all events ; which made it much to be feared 
that schism would take place, whenever any material change 
should be determined on. In this case, they who should adhere 
to the articles would claim their relation to the Church of Eng- 
land ; while it would be questionable whether the others would 
have any permanent tie among themselves. 

"Therefore, the author wished for an adherence to the thirty- 
nine articles, not excepting the general principles maintained in 
the political parts of them ; but with an exception, in the ratifica- 
tion, of the local application of the said parts, according to the 
letter of them. But he did not wish to have the articles signed, 
as in England, according to the tenor of the thirty-sixth canon of 
that Church. He preferred the resting of the obligation of them 
on the promises made at ordination, as required by the seventh 
article of the constitution, considered as sufficient by the English 
bishops ; which would render them articles- of peace, as they are 
sometimes said to be in the Church of England, but not with 
such evident propriety as they would then be in the American 
Church. As the author approves of the general tenor of the 
thirty-nine articles, he trusted that, however he might have sup- 
posed, in his private judgment, the possibility of omitting some 
of them, and of altering others to advantage; yet not perceiving 
a probability either that such a change, if made, would have been 
for the better, or that, if so, it would have found such general 
acceptance as to prove a sufficient bond of union, he thought he 
acted consistently in endeavoring to obtain them on the terms 
stated." 



APPENDIX D. 281 



D. 



Objections to the Liturgy of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church answered. Extracted from 
" Thoughts on the Religious State of the 
Country," by the Bev. Calvin Colton. Pp. 120- 
134. 

Let us consider separately some of the most common objec- 
tions to a prescribed form, such as is used in the Episcopal Church. 

1. It is a Eoman liturgy. This reason may have force in com- 
pany with prejudice ; not, I think, anywhere else. It has been 
already fully answered iu the previous chapter on Episcopacy, 
by the suggestion that the objection bears with equal sway 
against the Bible — against Christianity, etc. If the liturgy, as 
abridged and expurgated from Romish corruptions, is sound in 
doctrine and good for practical purposes, that is enough — that is 
all that needs to be claimed for it. No matter where it came 
from. 

Moreover, our liturgy is not in fact a production of the Church 
of Rome ; but in all that is of original and uninspired composi- 
tion, in its collects, and in the general and substantial structure 
thereof, it may fairly be accepted, partly by presumption from a 
consideration of its intrinsic and obvious merits, where positive 
testimony of the origin of particular parts is wanting, and partly 
by historical evidence, as having emanated from the most eminent 
Christians of all ages, back to the Apostles, and as actually con- 
nected with them. All the devotional parts of the liturgy will 
satisfactorily demonstrate this, even though we lay aside the con- 
sideration of the notable fact, that no devotional compositions of 
our own day ever obtain a general acceptance, except they are 
from the hand of the most pious, godly, heavenly-minded men. 
There is nothing in the history of the Church of Rome to show, 
positively or presumptively, that her ritual, in any of the parts 
received by Protestants, had been corrupted. Besides the general 



282 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

excellence of the liturgical compositions, as approved by the con- 
science, and by the most devout and heavenly affections of the 
universal Church, every true Christian must feel that the service 
called the Litany is a very ecstasy of devotion, and that none can 
attain to the purity and height of its holy and heavenly breath- 
ings, without feeling that he is above the world and near to 
heaven. All persons accustomed to the liturgy must have felt the 
power of that part of it. To such the Litany will need no com- 
mendation from me. The like was never written by the hand of 
uninspired man. It seems inspired — and inspired in the highest 
degree. I verily believe it is so ; not indeed as claiming our re- 
spect as a part of the sacred canon, but as having been drawn by 
the hands of men who stood and felt themselves to be standing in 
and breathing the holiest atmosphere that is possible on earth — 
in the presence and at the footstool of the Eternal Three in One 
— at the foot of the Cross — sympathizing with God and with the 
dependence and wants of our race — breathing out the holiest, 
most importunate prayer after God and for redemption from sin. 
It seems as if they stood at the last stage between earth and 
heaven, about to enter heaven, but unwilling to go there till they 
had used their last opportunity of prayer, and poured out before 
the throne of God and the Cross of a dying Saviour their effectual 
intercessions for all whom they were leaving behind. Let any 
Christian read that portion of the liturgy, and he will confess 
that this which I have said of it is not praise, but a simple state- 
ment of its merits. 

In short, it is evident that this manual of public and private 
devotion, in all that is uninspired, and in its general plan and 
structure, is the joint product of the most orthodox and the holi- 
est of men. Say that it has been in use in the Eoman Church ; 
say, even — though that does not appear — that it was principally 
produced in that Church ; I see not, I feel not, that it can be the 
worse for that. Nay, as we are certified that some of the most 
eminent Christians that have lived since the days of the Apostles 
have been found in that connection, and as we have satisfactory 
evidence that such characters, running back through all ages of 
the Church, must have had the charge of this production, it comes 



APPENDIX D. 283 

to us under the highest sanction of uninspired authority. It is in 
fact a joint work of the wisest and best men that have been 
found scattered along through the entire range of the Christian 
era to the sixteenth century. But the work, after all, speaks for 
itself, and, by whomsoever used, is sure to make impressions of its 
own holy character. I have never yet seen the Christian, or 
the man, who could open his mouth against it, on the ground of 
its intrinsic merits. It is admitted to comprehend every subject 
of prayer, and the wide scope of Scripture history, devotion, doc- 
trine, and precept. 

2. The prescribed service of the Episcopal Church is objected 
to as an irksome repetition, and therefore unprofitable. That the 
public services, under the head of Morning and Evening Prayers, 
are the same throughout the year, is true; and I have shown that 
the public prayers of other denominations, who reject these and 
all prescribed forms, are notwithstanding for the most part set 
forms ; and it is equally true that they are in general nearly a 
repetition. The difference in this particular is too trifling to be 
made of any account, especially when balanced against other con- 
siderations, which will generally be allowed to operate in favor 
of the Episcopal service and against these. For example : The 
prayers of the Episcopal Church are short, having intervals occu- 
pied by the choir and by reading of the Scriptures. This gives 
variety and relieves from irksomeness. The language also is pure 
and comprehensive, and equally adapted to all minds. Whereas, 
in the other case, the principal prayer is long — often uncommonly 
so. Not unfrequently it occupies a half hour, till everybody is 
tired. Besides, the language often offends good taste ; the sub- 
jects are sometimes treated awkwardly, so as to give pain instead 
of promoting edification ; topics are occasionally touched in a 
manner very objectionable ; and the minds of a large portion of 
the congregation are unavoidably occupied in criticism, rather 
than joining in worship. But those who habitually attend on the 
Episcopal service have no room for criticism, and no provocation. 
If they are pious and devout, the prescribed form, so far as it 
occurs as a repetition, is a help to their devotions. Repetition 
there must be in all modes of worship ; it is unavoidable. And 



284 THE COMPKEHENSIVE CHURCH. 

when it must occur, it is desirable that it should be brief, com- 
prehensive, and pure, as in the prayers of the Episcopal Church. 
For those who are not pious, and consequently not absorbed in 
devotion, I believe, as a general fact, that the Episcopal service is 
less irksome and more agreeable. The frequent change and great 
variety are an obvious reason why it should be so. Besides, it 
should be recollected that much the greater part of the services 
appointed for every day, and for every morning and evening, in- 
cluding the collects and Scriptures, are not a repetition except 
once a year — leaving out of view the part sustained by the" choir, 
and even that has more or less variety in it. With the exception 
of a few short prayers offered up at intervals between other parts, 
the services of the Episcopal Church actually have less repetition 
and a greater variety than those of any other Protestant Church. 
And it cannot be denied that they are all in the highest degree 
Scriptural, and eminently calculated to assist devotion. 

3. But there is too much getting up and sitting down, too fre- 
quent change of posture and of topic, too much interchange of 
different kinds of service, etc. Doubtless it does seem so to those 
who are not accustomed to it, and who are more used to services 
like the Presbyterian. But when this objection is proved experi- 
mentally, it not only vanishes, but the practices before esteemed 
faults are transformed into excellences. The whole system is 
found to accord with nature and with the spirit of closet devo- 
tion. It might be presumed that such a ritual, the product of so 
many centuries of the Christian Church, and of the most illustri- 
ous saints adorning her annals, who had to do with the formation 
of this work, was never composed and constructed but with all 
the lights and suggestions of experience. 

Follow the Christian' to his closet, where are his Bible, his 
prayer and hymn books, his various manuals of devotion. He 
kneels and invokes God, his Father, Redeemer, and Sanctifier ; 
he reads a verse, or two, or more, or a chapter of the Bible, ac- 
cording as his feelings incline. If a sentiment of devotion springs 
up in his heart at any moment or place of his reading or medita- 
tion, he instantly gives expression to it ; if any desire, he offers it 
up in prayer ; if he feels any evil, he prays for deliverance ; if 



APPENDIX D. 285 

his kindness for others flows out, he prays for them ; whatever 
emotion springs np in his bosom, he utters it, whether of sorrow 
for sin, of gratitude for favors, of adoration, of intercession, or of 
praise. If one great feeling pervades his heart, he dwells upon it, 
and brings it out in various forms in his addresses to the Deity. 
In the course of half an hour lie has perhaps looked many times 
into his Bible, hymn book, and other devotional helps that may 
lie before him, and at each interval poured out his various and 
rapidly succeeding emotions and desires before the throne and 
mercy-seat of God. He rises and walks his room, and kneels 
again; he prays; he sings, it may be; he changes his subject, his 
book, his posture, and passes from one act of devotion to another, 
just as his feelings prompt him ; and his states of feeling are 
every moment changing, as thoughts succeed each other. This is 
nature in such an occupation ; it is man acting out, without re- 
straint, his own character, as a religious being, in the cultivation 
of religious affections. And it is very likely he will offer the 
same petition, word for word, many times in succession, and at 
every time ending with the usual doxology and Amen. He loves 
to say, " Through my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; " and to 
u ascribe praise to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." He loves to go 
over the same thing again and again, where his affections for the 
moment are strongly fixed ; and he believes that God, who is his 
Father, is willing to hear. And he will perhaps return to the 
same topic many times in the same season of his retirement. 

Now, let it be observed that the entire system of the Episco- 
pal ritual is based upon this principle — viz., on the natural and 
various promptings of religious affections in closet devotion, so 
far as it can be applied to public worship. There is this difference 
between the two. In his closet the Christian, being alone, fol- 
lows the promptings of his feelings; whereas a public ritual should 
itself be the prompter and the guide. In his closet the Christian is 
not called upon to have respect to others, but only to himself, in 
the course of his devotional exercises. But in public, where there 
are many minds and various states of feeling, the exercises of de- 
votion should be so contrived as to bring all these various minds, 
as far as possible, to the same state at the same time. In public, 



286 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

it is impossible that a ritual of devotion should be conformed to 
the states of feeling in each individual ; its aim should rather be 
to prompt and control feeling, but not without regard to that vari- 
ety, as well as repetition, which is the spontaneous growth of the 
closet. The closet is the model; and the plan of public worship 
should be to come as near to it as possible. It is the natural flow 
and rapidly-succeeding changes of the religious affections, which 
are to be regarded in the formation of a public ritual. In this 
view, it will be seen that the Episcopal forms and modes of wor- 
ship have been ordered in wisdom ; and that they demonstrate a 
consummate acquaintance with the human heart under the affec- 
tions of religion. 

4. But the common use of the ritual by all the people is a 
mere mockery, and sanctions hypocrisy. It is well known that 
there is no devotion in the hearts of a great portion of the congre- 
gation, and they know it themselves; and the practice, in connec- 
tion with this consciousness, is in great danger of making them 
mere formalists for life, and consequently it is perilous to their 
souls. 

That any person should fail to enter into the spirit of the 
forms of public worship, on which he is accustomed to attend, 
is certainly to be regretted ; but I am not aware that this is a 
sin peculiar to Episcopalians. It may possibly be more visible 
among them ; but in all honesty I do not think it is more preva- 
lent. What is the appearance of any person in a religious congre- 
gation, but an ostensible profession of worship ? The reigning 
public conscience of the community is in favor of religion; and 
the ordinances of public worship are God's appointed means, not 
only of edification to Christians, but of bringing unconverted men 
— sinners, who in their conscience respect religion — home to him- 
self. For the most part, those who use the solemn, and, as it 
must be confessed by all, the appropriate ritual of the Episcopal 
Church, may charitably be supposed to have a respect for its doc- 
trine and sentiments ; and in the exercise of the same charity, it 
may also be presumed that their conscience goes with the ser- 
vice. On the last point, there is in most cases no doubt. 

There is just as much reason for the ministry of the Church 



APPENDIX D. 287 

to call on all the people to engage and take part in the puhlic ser- 
vices of the sanctuary, as for the Christian father and head of a 
family to call aronnd the altar of his household his children and 
domestics, and exhort them to join in the acts of devotion, what- 
ever be their form, in which he leads. Both institutions are 
suitable and good, and have the same general design ; and all the 
objections which can be brought against one lie with equal force 
against the other. It may be hoped that he, who can be induced 
to join formally and habitually in acts of social and public wor- 
ship, will also by that very means, under the blessing of God, be 
brought to a participation in the grace and spirit of that worship. 
Certainly, it must be granted that it is more hopeful and better 
to do it, than not to do it. I think, indeed, it may be satisfac- 
torily shown that a formal and actual participation in the ordi- 
nary uses of the public ritual of the Episcopal Church, other 
things being equal, is more likely to issue in a cordial acquiescence 
in the requirements of the Gospel than the passive and taciturn 
habit of the Presbyterian and some other denominations. The 
mere suggestion of this idea, I am disposed to believe, will gener- 
ally be convincing. This suggestion is the more forcible, when 
we consider that the temper of the age and of the public mind is 
favorable to the possession and exemplification of the graces of 
practical piety in all their legitimate bearings — which is an un- 
doubted fact. 

5. The audible responses of the congregation are objected to 
as improper, unprofitable, and tending to confusion. 

As to the charge of confusion, inasmuch as it is an appointed 
order, well understood, conformed to without difficulty in the 
manner intended, and to those concerned is in no sense confusion, 
it requires no reply. That it is improper, if it suits the feelings 
of the denomination, I cannot see, or feel. In all ages religious 
congregations have been accustomed to make responses to official 
performances, in one form or another : so did the Hebrews ; so 
do the Jews still ; and so have Christians from the beginning, 
with the exception of some Protestant sects, who have probably 
laid aside this practice, rather for the sake of setting up a differ- 
ence under the name of an improvement, than for any good rea- 



288 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

sons, as is the fact in some other changes. I think it cannot 
fairly be made a question of propriety, but of taste and habit ; 
and may therefore be lawful with those who like it. 

As to its profitableness, it may be remarked that it is not only 
an ostensible, and, with true worshippers, a real expression of 
sympathy, but it is calculated to give greater effect to the power 
of sympathy, and to kindle livelier sentiments of devotion in the 
hearts of those who engage in these offices. What Christian does 
not know by experience the difference in the state and activity of 
his religious feelings, while engaged in the duties of the closet, 
when in one case his devotions are only mental, and in the other 
he gives them an audible expression ? The mere sound of his own 
voice on his own ear, in the utterance of his emotions, and the 
effect of natural and appropriate intonations, give a new character 
and an increased ardor and vigor to those sentiments. It is hard- 
ly possible for him to realize the full benefit of private devotions, 
when deprived of this privilege. It is in truth and in all experi- 
ence the most indispensable and most active means of kindling 
devotion to its purest and most glowing fires. 

And if such be the effect in the closet, how much more in the 
public congregation, where the mysterious and amazing power of 
sympathy comes in to give character and intensity to the devo- 
tions of the house of God ? Such beyond all question is the nat- 
ural tendency, and such the design of this practice. It is intended, 
moreover, that every one present should feel that he is a worship- 
per, and that he should sustain his own part. It makes all partici- 
pants in concert ; besides that, it gives to each, even in this public 
place, the additional privilege of the closet. While he reads and 
prays and sings, in company with those around him, enjoying and 
communicating the power of sympathy, he also reads and prays 
and sings as one alone in the presence of God, and in his 
earthly sanctuary. There is, perhaps, no feature of the Episcopal 
ritual that is founded more in nature — that is better adapted to 
man as he is — and, of course, none more demonstrative of wisdom, 
and of experience in the character and operations of piety, as 
well as in the means of assisting and promoting it. It is true, 
this privilege may be abused ; so may anything else. It may fail 



APPENDIX D. 289 

of its intended effect over undevout minds; and so may any 
other and whatever means. 

6. But, with all these advantages, Episcopalians have no re- 
ligion ; they are mere formalists. 

Alas! I am ashamed. It is pleasant, however, to observe, 
that an answer to the prayer incorporated in the Litany of the 
Episcopal ritual— 1 ' from all uncharitableness, good Lord, deliver 
us" — is beginning to a great extent to be realized, as an apparent 
result of this or of some other influence. It is certainly true, 
that the different denominations of Christians are more charita- 
ble and more kind toward each other now, than they were an 
age ago. It does not become me to volunteer as the defender of 
the piety of the Episcopal Church. I may say, however, in all 
good conscience, that I have always blushed at the charge now un- 
der consideration, whenever it has saluted my ears, as unbecoming 
and injurious. Of my Presbyterian and Congregational brethren, 
both ministers and laymen, as a body, I may say with all sincerity, 
and am bound in honesty to say, that I respect and love them 
for the decided, hopeful, and interesting exemplications of Chris- 
tian piety and zeal, which I have long witnessed in their ranks. 
I believe — I am bound to testify — that their Christian character, in 
matters most important and hopeful of good to our country and 
to the world, has greatly improved within the limits of my inti- 
macy and fellowship among them. 

Without pretending to assume any definite point, or presuming 
to make invidious comparisons, I think I may also say, supported 
by the common opinion of the religious public, that no Christian 
denomination in our land has improved more in the same time, as 
to their piety and efficiency, than the Episcopalians. And over 
most of the others they have one great advantage : they are har- 
monious. The American Episcopal Church seems of late years to 
have risen to a sense of her responsibilities ; she has established 
theological seminaries ; is calling out and training young men to 
increase the ranks of her ministry ; she has entered into the spirit 
of missions, domestic and foreign ; and God hath blessed her 
abundantly within her own pale, in fulfilment of His own en- 
gagement that "he who watereth shall himself be watered." 

13 



290 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

7. The numerous holy days and saints' days, appointed or re- 
commended to be observed, in the Episcopal liturgy, are objected 
to as relics of the Eomish superstitions. 

As a theory, independent of these fragments of history, it 
would seem very suitable that the most remarkable events of our 
Saviour's earthly abode, from his nativity to his ascension, should 
be, in some form and by special ordinances, commemorated. 
Whether the very week of the year, or day of the month, can be 
precisely determined, is not of material importance, if Christians 
can be agreed on any assumed dates for the respective events. It 
must be evident that such observances are calculated to fix and 
preserve in the public mind the remembrances suggested by them ; 
and to do it more effectually than could be realized in the want 
of them, in the same manner as our Fourth of July keeps alive 
the recollection and sentiments proper to be cherished in relation 
to that eventful period of our history; in the same manner as the 
2 2d of February reminds us of the Father of our Country ; and in 
the same manner as the annual celebration of any remarkable 
event or epoch, distinguished in history for good or evil to man- 
kind generally, or to any community, may serve to inspire with 
gratitude, hope, and courage, if the event was a blessing, or with 
admonition and caution, if it was an evil. 

And what harm in setting up like perpetual memorials, if 
there is room for them, to such names as the most distinguished 
of the Apostles, Evangelists, Christian martyrs of the earlier and 
later ages, and of the most eminent saints that belong to past 
history ? Is not their history inspiring and profitable to contem- 
plate ? Is it proper, is it well to let their names, their example, 
and their virtues go into oblivion ? Can it be honestly averred, 
independent of the supposed origin and mediate descent of some 
of these appointments, that the use made of them in the Episcopal 
Church is likely to have, or does have, any bad effect ? Viewed 
as a theory, the objection falls ; and I am not aware that the 
practice is found to be vicious in its tendency. Every question 
of this kind, to be determined fairly, must be decided on the 
simple ground of its own merits, apart from the influence of 
prejudice. 



APPENDIX D. 291 

But who are they that make this objection? I will suppose, 
for example, that they are Presbyterians and Congregationalists. 
Well, let ns try them by their own rule : It is a singular fact that 
within the limits of about twenty years, and for the most part in 
much less time than that, a calendar of stated religious occasions, 
or holy days, has been made up, adopted, and gone into general 
use throughout these two denominations, much more crowded, as 
I am inclined to believe — though I have not taken the trouble of 
counting the lists in the two cases for comparison — than the cor- 
responding calendar of holy days adopted and recommended by the 
Episcopal Church, which have grown principally out of events scat- 
tered along the entire line of eighteen centuries. And, in addition 
to these, there are constantly occurring numerous special and ex- 
temporaneous appointments, which, in their number, added to the 
amount of time allotted to their observance, probably exceed the 
calendar of stated occasions of the same class. There is a month- 
ly concert (of prayer), so called, at least for every week in the 
year, and I believe somewhat in excess of this, assigned each to 
its specific object, as for example, to Christian missions generally 
— which I believe is the primitive institution of the kind ; to the 
Sabbath-school enterprise ; to the tract cause and efforts ; to the 
cause of sailors ; to the temperance reformation ; to abolition of 
slavery; to Christian mothers 1 associations — which in many cases 
is weekly; to revivals of religion ; and to numerous other speck 
fie occasions, already gone into extensive, and many of them into 
general, observance. I suppose it would be moderate to state the 
monthly concerts, which are very generally observed, at seventy- 
five a year. There is a large class of other stated and extempo- 
raneous religious occasions, obtaining and receiving a great share 
of the attention of the religious public of these two denominations, 
amounting in all, I should think, if we include the entire list of 
every sort above specified, to not less than two hundred a year, in- 
dependent of the Sabbath. Of course I do not mean that each of 
these has got into general use ; but probably not less than one 
hundred and fifty of them are very widely observed, and that, 
too, by the same individuals. 

This surprising list of religious occasions, or holy days, stated 



292 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. 

and special, has all grown up within about twenty years. The 
original monthly concert, on the subject of general missions, has 
long since attained to a very sacred estimation ; and so in its train 
have several others of the same class, though falling somewhat be- 
hind, as regards the interest felt in them. There are several an- 
nual concerts, to which very great importance is attached, as the 
first Monday in the year, for the world ; a day in February for 
colleges ; another for the cause of temperance ; and some others, 
the specific design of which I am not possessed of. 

Of course I do not refer to these appointments to object to 
them. Many of them I have long sympathized with, and ob- 
served religiously for the design of their institution. My only 
object is to bring them up in array before those who are supposed 
to object to the comparative paucity (or frequency) of stated 
religious observances, or holy days, which are to be found in the 
religious calendar of the Episcopal Church, that it may be seen 
which party in fact has the most, the complainants or the accused. 



THE END. 



TEIT-WORK II PALESTINE : 

A Record of Discovery ana Adventure. 

By CLAUDE REIGNIER CONDER, R. E., 
Officer in Command of the Survey ExrEDmoN. 

Published for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. 

With 33 Illustrations by J. W. WHTMPEB. 



2 vols., 8vo. 



Cloth, $6.00, 



CONTENTS. 



The Road to Jerusalem. 

Shechem and the Samaritans. 

The Survey of Samaria. 

The Great Plain op Esdr^elon. 

The Nazareth Hills. 

Carmel and Acre. 

Sharon. 

Damascus, Baalbek, and Hermon. 

Samson's Country. 

Bethlehem and Mar Suba. 

Jerusalem. 

The Temple and Calvary. 



Jericho. 

The Jocdan Valley. 

Hebron and Beersheba. 

The Land op Benjamin 

The Desert of Judah. 

The Shephdah and Philistria. 

Galilee. 

The Origin of the Fellahin. 

Life and Habits of the FkllaiiIn. 

The Bedawin. 

Jews, Russians, and Germans. 

The Fertility of Palestine. 



This book is intended to give as accurate a general description as 
possible of Palestine, which, through the labors of the Committee of the 
Exploration Fund, is brought home to us in such a way that the student 
may travel, in his study, over its weary roads and rugged hills without 
an ache, and may ford its dangerous streams and pass through its mala- 
rious plains without discomfort. 



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HISTORY OF OPINIONS ON THE SCRIPTURAL DOC- 

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the pressure of duties whose daily fulfillment seemed to have a first claim on his time 

and strength." — Emtract from Preface. 

THE LIFE AND WORDS OF CHRIST. By Cunningham 
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SERMONS PREACHED IN ST. JAMES CHAPEL, LONDON. 

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I volume, i2mo. Cloth Price, $2.00. 

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RELIGION AND SCIENCE. 



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PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTOKY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 

i2mo, cloth. Price, $1 50. 

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